US Open tennis ranking list for top 25 men’s players, based on the Opportunities Championship

In professional tennis, the small number next to your name is everything. It is your seed, your status, your proof to be taken seriously. “Oh mine, did you see that the man with the 22 next to his name defeated the man with the 3 next to his name?! Wow, what an upset!” And in general, sowing – derived from the ATP rankings that come together with a little subjectivity – is quite a way to gauge who can win and who cannot. But not always.

For the upcoming US Open, the last major tournament of the year, Herentennis you probably should know about 17 people you should know, but because of the round figures (and because I think we are going to be a wall at the Alexander Bublik/Alexei Pophin turn), I go the ATP Top 25* and tell you who I think of winning the American open.

*Disclaimer: As far as I know, Gregor Dimitrov is the only top 25 player who has stopped so far due to injury. That can change in the month before the tournament, so I come to my Denis Shapovalov thoughts if the need occurs.

Tier 6: Other names that you would probably have to know, presented in order of ATP -Rang

Bonus: 49. Joao Fonseca

Our injury replacement for Dimitrov on this list, Fonseca has made back-to-back third rounds on Majors and is still 18 years old, so ask someone around men’s tennis who can be the next … they will point out to him.

25. Alexander Bublik

Fiery player who defeated Jack Draper in the French Open but lost in the first round in Wimbledon.

24. Francisco Cerundolo

Cerundolo, a player Op and the continuing player since 2023, is the paragon of the busy middle class of men’s tennis.

23. Ugo Humbert

Humbert has apparently been forever and is always a threat to win a competition or two, but I am not sure how much more than he is able.

22. Tomas Machac

Our second Czech player in four places, Machac is an Olympic gold medal winner from 2024 in mixed Doubles.

21. Arthur Son

Ranked 21, 21 years old and the top player from France, Fils is a very nice watch with a few big wins over hard courts – he has reversed Zverev in Miami this year.

20. Grigor Dimitrov (out with breast damage)

19. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina

Currently the highest ranked he has ever been, he is the best non-Alcaraz Spaniard on tour and just opened the final of the Citi.

18. Jakub fascinates

He is 19, 6’5 ‘and took a big win over Djokovic at the Miami Open 2025, an ATP Masters 1000-level event.

Tier 5: The “Nothing to lose” guys

17. Flavio Cobolli

ATP -Rang: 17

He is six years younger than Khachanov and is currently launching an exploratory committee with an elite player. We will have to wait to see if that committee will return with a better judgment than “take a Djokovic varying matters in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon”, but I am for everything.

16. Karen Khachanov

ATP -Rang: 16

Khachanov is the recent houseberg player of the ATP. Nobody ever expects him to win anything, but he occasionally puts an annoying run together and reminds everyone that they are not safe with their rankings. He is a nice player, but I don’t see him win anything soon.

Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty images

Tier 4: I am honestly just confused

15. Casper Ruud

ATP -Rang: 13

Slightly better, Ruud has won two Competitions at Majors this year, but drew themselves from Wimbledon due to an injury. There was a good 20 minutes when it seemed as if Ruud could be the following, but now I don’t know what to think; I didn’t have much reason recently to believe in the future of Norwegian tennis.

14. Daniil Medvedev

ATP -Rang: 14

What a fall for Medvedev, who had the year out of hell in Majors – he is one One competition In three Grand Slams, and that is simply insane for the former world number 1. This is the man who defeated Djokovic in the US Open final of 2021 when he went for the Calendar Grand Slam, and this year he simply was unable to hack it. I don’t know what happened, but there is no way it can stay so bad.

Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty images

Tier 3: The stuffed or silent crew

13. Tommy Paul

ATP -Rang: 15

Paul has played his best tennis for the past two years, but I still have no evidence that his best tennis is enough to even reach a big final, let alone win one. If you are looking for an American hopeful, you have three better options.

12. Holger Rune

ATP -Rang: 9

Rune is a player that I don’t really understand. He has the tools of an elite player of his generation, but failed miserably in five sets. If there is something, he is a bit on a less successful Jack Draper. Or maybe that is only because of their backward hats.

11. Andrey Rublev

ATP -Rang: 11

Oh, did you think the Minaur was a social experiment in quarter -final failure? Well, let me introduce Rublev, which is always 0-10 in large quarterfinals. That is just cruel and unusual, so Rublev has some demons to deal with before he can be taken seriously as a competition.

10. Frances Tiafoe

ATP -Rang: 12

Tiafoe was my most important American hope for a while after he pushed Carlos Alcaraz to five sets in the US Open Semifinal in 2022, but he has not been as consistent as Fritz or Shelton lately. He plays with tons of fire and possibly digs deeper than anyone on tour when his back is against the wall, but his game has not evolved with the rest of men’s tennis. He still trusts a top spin-heavy forehand that trades raw speed for spider speed, and does not have the speed to overwhelm less opponents like others around his level.

9. Alex de Minaur

ATP -Rang: 8

The career of the Minaur is like a social experiment of how many quarterfinals you can make without ever reaching a semi -final. To be honest, it is sad, and he has been providing a 0-5 record in the last eight despite playing excellent tennis for years. Another player with a consistent game that simply did not provide anything at the highest level, the Minaur probably needs a favorable draw to break the drought. That or an exorcism.

8. Lorenzo Mussets

ATP -Rang: 10

The characteristic of this group are players I think they can be better than they are … but they have to prove it to me. Mussetti is a player I lay, with one of those “I am not sure if this will work, but I’m going to try it anyway”, shot diets that make Sinner and Alcaraz so special. Mussetti has a game that looks almost comical of Roger Federer, with the headband and backhand with one hand to start. But he has real power and I believe him as a potential riser tube on tour.

Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty images

Tier 2: Talk in it yourself

7. Taylor Fritz

ATP -Rang: 4

I am not the biggest fan of Fritz. I have long been skeptical about his ability to beat top players in five set matches, usually only the players he should beat and fold as soon as his opponent has a better hand. But beating everyone you should beat is a bit of an underestimated skill, so that Fritz could come to the US Open Final last year on the back of a amazing Light draw. Of course he was by Sinner in the final by Sinner, but he only had a lucky break and he could have been a big champion. It is a really shaky theory, but sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. Usually usually.

6. Jack Draper

ATP -Rang: 5

Draper had an extremely disappointing Wimbledon and the British spotlights gave up to Cameron Norrie after he entered the overwhelming favorite in the hometown. Draper, however, has an absurd crack of his serve and plays a consistent, all-Court style that is conducive to success in competitions of five set. And he is only 23, so I wouldn’t exclude him.

5. Ben Shelton

ATP -Rang: 7

I go here on a limb, but I think Shelton will soon be a regular member of the ATP -TOP 5. He is better than both Jack Draper and Taylor Fritz Mechanical, and plays a style that can and will propel him beyond Elite. He has had a very nice year and has a lot of time to grow in his final form. The only question is: will it be good enough?

4. Alexander Zverev

ATP -Rang: 3

Zverev has had one year, and really one up and down career as far as Grand Slams go. In fact, he is glorified Cannon Fodder for those who happen to be at the highest level of Herentennis, whether it is Djokovic and Nadal of Sinner and Alcaraz – it always does well on tour but cannot break his personal glass ceiling. He has become bad luck in places and has a really modern game with quite special mobility for his size. He could certainly win a major if he somehow avoids the top two on his path to the final, but that is not a good gamble. It is much more likely that Zverev itself becomes upset.

3. Novak Djokovic

ATP -Rang: 6

This is where the rankings deviate from the methodology, because Djokovic is ranked among the three versatile players, but in my opinion still has a better chance in competitions of five set. Djokovic was destroyed by Sinner in the semi -final of Wimbledon, and it increasingly looks like the goat no prayer against the new royalty of men tennis. But I would probably still choose him against one of the other 62 players in the tournament, proof of how much his game has endured his older age. However, I do not know how long I will give the Serbian the benefit of the doubt, so it is better to enjoy it.

Photo by Julian Finney/Getty images

Tier 1: Those Two

2. Carlos Alcaraz

ATP -Rang: 2

I mean, do I have to explain this layer to someone more? It seems that this will be the top 2 seeds with every slam and meet each other every time in the final … Probably to the heat death of the universe. Sinner is so ridiculously good on Hard Court, so Alcaraz is second. But like … would I even be a percent surprised if he won the thing? Not at all.

1. Jannik Sinner

ATP -Rang: 1

I have no rational reason to predict that Carlos Alcaraz Sinner will beat on hard court. The Italian turns into a kind of Rafael-on-on-Clay-Cept-it-Hard-Court Level, after he has taken the last three Grand Slams on the surface. And I had no rational reason to predict that he would also beat Alcaraz on grass at Wimbledon, and then Sinner did it anyway. And he played thoroughly in shape after his suspension, so through a combination of gut feeling and irrefutable evidence, Sinner is the clear favorite. If he had not choked the French open after he had three competition points, he would now go for the Grand Slam calendar – or all four Majors win in one year. That was no longer done since Rod Laver in 1969.