When Carlos Alcaraz lost the Round of 32 in Paris against Cameron Norrie, all eyes turned to Jannik Sinner. Many pondered whether the Italian could reclaim the No. 1 spot by winning at La Défense Arena. However, as Sinner opened up about his pursuit of the coveted world number one ranking, he reflected a grounded perspective.

A few days ago, when Jannik Sinner defeated Carlos Alcaraz at the Six Kings Slam, he was asked if he still hopes of chasing down the Spaniard and becoming the world number one. In reply to that, he had then said, “This year, it’s going to be impossible.” The Italian, who held the number one ranking for almost 65 weeks, lost the spot to Alcaraz after the US Open final defeat. However, there is still a grim chance of recovering the crown from Alcaraz, after the Spaniard’s R32 defeat in Paris. Yet, Sinner again repeated during pre-tournament press conference, “No, it’s impossible. I mean…honestly, I’m not thinking about this at the moment. It’s going to be a goal for next year. This year, it’s not in my hands. Let’s say it like this. “

If we draw a comparison between the two, Sinner has played around 55 matches this season (won 48 out of them) and won four titles. While Alcaraz has played 75 matches (won 67 out of those) and won 8 titles in 2025 so far. Talking about ATP Live Rankings, Alcaraz currently sits at the top spot with 11,250 points, while Sinner is in second place with 10,510. So there is still a 740-point gap between the two.

Analyzing his overall performance in 2025 so far during the same pre-match interview at the Paris Masters, Sinner said, “Considering how the whole year went, you know, we have achieved some incredible things. Now, I just want to finish the season in the best possible way. If I can do something great, amazing. If not, I did something great already this year, and I will try for me as also last year. December is going to be a very important month for me because I feel like we can make a lot of changes and do a lot of work there. And I’m also getting ready for the next season and the beginning of the season. I know how important that is for me in many scenarios.” 

Sinner will take on Belgium’s Zizou Bergs in his first match at the 2025 Paris Masters. This will be his first meeting with the Belgian, and all he now wants is to give his best and see what he can achieve at this tournament.

According to the Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis, Jannik Sinner has a chance to rewrite history once again. He currently leads the ATP Tour in both service games won and return games won. Since 1991, no player has topped both categories in the same season. Before entering the Paris Masters, Sinner had won 91.45% of his service games and 32.68% of his return games. These numbers have improved quite a lot from last year, but can he regain the top spot and finish the year on the highest note like in 2024?

Has Carlos Alcaraz’s early exit from the Paris Masters lit up Jannik Sinner’s chances of finishing the year as world number one?

British star Cameron Norrie defeated Alcaraz by 4-6, 6-3, and 6-4 in the R32 of the Paris Masters. After the match, the six-time Grand Slam champion expressed his displeasure with the court conditions in Paris. However, this early exit has now opened the doors for Sinner to regain the crown, but…temporarily! How?

With Alcaraz’s exit, Jannik Sinner is guaranteed to return to the top spot in the ATP Rankings on Monday should he win the title at the Paris Masters. But sadly for the Italian, this could possibly be for just one week before handing back the crown to Alcaraz ahead of the ATP Finals, where he will drop 1,500 points earned by winning the tournament last year. Should Sinner emerge as an undefeated champion at the Inalpi Arena one more time, the Spaniard would need to pick up just 450 points at the ATP Finals to end the year as world number one.

For that, Alcaraz needs to reach the final with at least one win in the group stage or go undefeated in group stage play. So, the year-end battle for the top spot is far from over.

However, Jannik Sinner also faced some physical issues in the last few matches. He was seen cramping up in Shanghai and Vienna recently. Seeing his physical struggles, renowned journalists Matt Roberts and David Law shared their concerns about the Italian. During a recent episode of the Tennis Podcast, Roberts highlighted a few moments from the later phase of Sinner’s match against Alexander Zverev at the Vienna Open final and said, “Sinner was really struggling physically with some cramping. I think that is the biggest question mark I would have for Jannik Sinner coming out of these last two tournaments, where he has cramped. Okay, Shanghai was extreme conditions. But it was odd to me that he was cramping in this match, considering he hadn’t had a particularly taxing week physically.”

But reacting to all these concerns ahead of this first match at the 2025 Paris Masters, Sinner assured his fans, saying, “I’m not worried physically. I feel in a good shape also tennis-wise. So I hope for a good start, and then we see how it goes. The [Vienna] final was very physical. The body feels good now.” Now, with the road to title triumph in Paris becoming much easier, do you think Sinner can capitalize fully on Alcaraz’s absence?