Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner belong to the ATP No. 1 Club highlights of 2025 | ATP tour | Tennis

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Alcaraz, Sinner belongs to the ATP No. 1 Club highlights of 2025

Duo’s battle for world number 1 kept fans gripped all season
December 12, 2025

To mark the end of another exciting season, ATPTour.com unveils our annual ‘Best Of’ series, which will reflect on the most intriguing rivalries, matches, comebacks, upsets and more. Today we highlight some important ATP No. 1 Club moments from the 2025 season.

The story of the ATP No. 1 Club in 2025 revolved around just two men: Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

Lexus’ great rivals ATP Head2Head played a compelling battle for ATP Year-End No. all season long. 1, presented by PIF awards, continuing to enrich the history of one of the most exclusive groups in the sport. ATPTour.com chronicles the 2025 storyline surrounding Alcaraz and Sinner, the two newest members of the ATP No. 1 Club.

Introducing the ATP No. 1 club:

Sinner reaches 52 weeks in debut No. 1 stint
Even within the prestigious ATP No. 1 Club, Sinner became part of an even more exclusive group on June 2. On the middle Monday of Roland Garros, the Italian began his 52nd consecutive week at the top of the PIF ATP Rankings, becoming only the fifth No. 1 to spend a full year at the top spot in his debut spell.

Sinner joined Roger Federer (237 weeks), Jimmy Connors (160 weeks), Lleyton Hewitt (75 weeks) and Novak Djokovic (53 weeks) to surpass the 52-week mark in his opening run as No. 1. By the time Alcaraz replaced him at the top spot on September 8, the Italian’s reign had extended to 65 weeks.

Only four other members of the No. 1 Club have occupied the top spot continuously for a year since the introduction of the PIF ATP rankings in 1973: Ivan Lendl, Pete Sampras, John McEnroe and Rafael Nadal.

Alcaraz wins the winner-takes-all US Open Showdown
Alcaraz completed a double attack on his rival Sinner on September 7 in New York. The Spaniard triumphed in a four-set championship match to claim the US Open crown from 2024 title winner Sinner and usurp the Italian as world No. 1.

Victory for Alcaraz in the winner-take-all final, in which Sinner himself would have retained the No. 1 spot with the victory, saw the Spaniard return to the top spot on September 8, the 22nd anniversary of the day his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, reached No. 1 for the first time. Alcaraz’s fellow ATP No. 1 Club member Ferrero was one of the first people to thank the 22-year-old in his speech at the trophy presentation at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“My team, my family, I’m really lucky to have you,” Alcaraz said. “The hard work you do to make me even better, not only professionally, but also personally. Every achievement I am [making] is thanks to you, and this one is no less, it’s yours too.

Indoor Master Sinner’s late season allowance
Alcaraz opened an impressive 2,590-point lead over Sinner in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin with his victory at the US Open. Taking over such an advantage may have been unthinkable for most players on Tour, but Sinner quickly began providing plenty of reminders that he was still alive in the battle for ATP Year-End No. 1, presented by PIF Awards.

The Italian quickly bounced back with an ATP 500 title in Beijing and although he was subsequently forced to withdraw from his third round match against Tallon Greekpoor in Shanghai, Sinner quickly joined up during the European indoor season to keep his rival Alcaraz, ranked No. 1 at the end of the year, on their toes.

The 24-year-old lost just one set during his title runs at the Vienna ATP 500 and the Rolex Paris Masters, while Alcaraz showed signs of fallibility indoors with a shock opening round defeat to Cameron Norrie in Paris. That defeat allowed Sinner to return to No. 1 in the world a week before the Nitto ATP Finals.

Jannik Sinner” style=”width: 100%;” src=”https://www.atptour.com/-/media/images/news/2025/11/02/17/29/sinner-paris-2025-reaction-final.jpg”>

Sinner celebrates winning Paris with his team. Photo credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP tour

Alcaraz keeps a cool head in Turin and takes number 1 at the end of the year
With Alcaraz back at No. 1 a week later after the PIF ATP Rankings points for the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals were dropped, the stage was set for the year-end final battle for No. 1 at the 2025 edition of the season finale. Alcaraz needed to bounce back from his struggles in Paris to finish the year in top spot, and he did just that with some impressive opening performances at the Inalpi Arena.

Alcaraz needed 450 points in Turin to become ATP Year End No. 1, presented by PIF Awards, for the second time, beating Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz and Lorenzo Musetti in the group stage to finally see off Sinner. Despite going 21-1 after the US Open, Alcaraz’s consistency throughout the year ultimately proved to be too much of a mountain for his rival to climb, although Sinner did enjoy the last laugh of the 2025 season by defeating Alcaraz in the Nitto ATP Finals championship match.

“It’s my pleasure [being] the number 1,” said Alcaraz, who after Djokovic is only the second active member of the ATP No. 1 Club to finish at number 1 multiple times at the end of the year. “Being the number 1 in the world is something that I work very hard for every day with my team. It’s a goal. But I think it’s a journey you don’t go through alone. It is with your whole team, with your family, with your closest people behind you who always support you in the difficult and good moments.”

Andrea Gaudenzi and Head of Corporate Brand and Strategic Advisory at PIF Mohamed Alsayyad present Carlos Alcaraz with the ATP Year-End No. 1, awarded by the PIF Trophy.” style=”width: 100%;” src=”https://www.atptour.com/-/media/images/news/2025/11/14/14/23/gaudenzi-alsayyad-alcaraz-nitto-atp-finals-2025.jpg”>

ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi and Head of Corporate Brand and Strategic Advisory at PIF Mohamed Alsayyad present Alcaraz with the ATP Year-End No. 1, awarded by the PIF Trophy. Photo credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP tour