By Roberto Ferri
Let’s start our last article on the ATP rankings by quoting the words which are said to be the last of emperor Augustus: “The play is over, applaud”.
We cannot but applaud Novak Djokovic, six-time ATP Finals winner just like Roger Federer. And we applaud the season, which, for good or ill, has been unique. Just consider the most striking events: Carlos Alcaraz rising to No. 1, Roger Federer’s retirement, all the issues involving Djokovic and the Wimbledon affair.
The top positions of the ranking have been significantly impacted by Djokovic’s absence from two Majors (Australian Open and US Open), four Masters 1000 (Indian Wells, Miami Open, Canadian Open, Cincinnati) and by ATP’s decision to not award points for Wimbledon.
If we compare the ATP rankings published after the ATP Finals in 2021 and 2022, this fact is clearly noticeable.
22 NOVEMBER 2021
| Position | Player | Country | Pts |
| 1 | Djokovic | Serbia | 11540 |
| 2 | Medvedev | Russia | 8640 |
| 3 | Zverev | Germany | 7840 |
| 4 | Tsitsipas | Greece | 6540 |
| 5 | Rublev | Russia | 5150 |
| 6 | Nadal | Spain | 4875 |
| 7 | Berrettini | Italy | 4568 |
| 8 | Ruud | Norway | 4160 |
| 9 | Hurkacz | Poland | 3706 |
| 10 | Sinner | Italy | 3350 |
| 11 | Auger-Aliassime | Canada | 3308 |
| 12 | Norrie | GB | 2945 |
| 13 | Schwartzman | Argentina | 2625 |
| 14 | Shapovalov | Canada | 2475 |
| 15 | Thiem | Austria | 2425 |
| 16 | Federer | Switzerland | 2385 |
| 17 | Garin | Chile | 2353 |
| 18 | Karatsev | Russia | 2351 |
| 19 | Bautista Agut | Spain | 2260 |
| 20 | Carreno Busta | Spain | 2230 |
14 NOVEMBER 2022:
| Position | Player | Country | Pts |
| 1 | Alcaraz | Spain | 6820 |
| 2 | Nadal | Spain | 6020 |
| 3 | Ruud | Norway | 5820 |
| 4 | Tsitsipas | Greece | 5550 |
| 5 | Djokovic | Serbia | 4820 |
| 6 | Auger-Aliassime | Canada | 4195 |
| 7 | Medvedev | Russia | 4065 |
| 8 | Rublev | Russia | 3930 |
| 9 | Fritz | USA | 3355 |
| 10 | Hurkacz | Poland | 2905 |
| 11 | Rune | Denmark | 2888 |
| 12 | Zverev | Germany | 2700 |
| 13 | Carreno Busta | Spain | 2495 |
| 14 | Norrie | GB | 2445 |
| 15 | Sinner | Italy | 2410 |
| 16 | Berrettini | Italy | 2375 |
| 17 | Shapovalov | Canada | 2105 |
| 18 | Cilic | Croatia | 2075 |
| 19 | Tiafoe | USA | 2000 |
| 20 | Khachanov | Russia | 1990 |
Novak Djokovic ended 2021 with 4720 points more than Carlos Alcaraz; also Medvedev and Tsitsipas earned more points than the Spaniard, who would not have reached 7000 points even counting the 135 points he wasn’t awarded at Wimbledon.
A few comments on the 2022 rankings:
- Casper Ruud, the ATP Finals finalist, concludes his excellent year in third place, overtaking Stefanos Tsitsipas with an impressive final rush.
- Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal are the only top 10 players born in the 80s; the other 8 were born in the second half of the 90s.
- Cameron Norrie and Pablo Carreno Busta are the survivors of the lost generation, born between 1990 and 1995 and that was most overpowered by the Big Four dominance.
- Only North America, beyond Europe, is represented at the very highest: Auger Aliassime, Fritz, Shapovalov and Tiafoe.
- Holger Rune has gained 92 positions since the start of the year. Carlos Alcaraz “just” 31.
- A final note: Kei Nishikori ends 2022 without a ranking. Does this suggest he’s going to retire?
BEST RANKING
Owing to earned and dropped points, as well as results in the Challenger events, five players in the top 100 have achieved their career highest this week:
Emil Ruusuvuori – 40
Quentin Halys – 64
Christopher O’Connell – 79
Roman Safiullin – 89
Nuno Borges – 91
A special applause for the 20-year old Ben Shelton, a bright prospect for USA tennis, who has made his debut in the top 100. Thanks to his victory in the Champaign-Urbana Challenger he’s now ranked 97.
Is that all? Not yet! Just a quiz for everybody: which was the last year which saw the first two places in the rankings occupied at the end of the season by two players of the same nationality?
That’s really all for now. We’ll be back in 2023.
Translated by Kingsley Elliot Kaye
