Carlos Alcaraz Takes Big Lead in Race for Year-End World No. 1 After US Open Win

Carlos Alcaraz is now the strong favorite to finish the year as World No. 1 after winning the US Open at Flushing Meadows and reclaiming the top spot in the ATP rankings.

With his victory, the 21-year-old Spaniard took a huge lead in the ATP Live Race to Turin, which tracks players’ performance throughout the season and decides who ends the year as No. 1.

Alcaraz is now 2,590 points ahead of his closest rival, Jannik Sinner. No other player is within 6,000 points of him, making his position even more secure with just a few major events left this season.

Sinner had a chance to close the gap during the US Open final. A win would have shifted 1,400 points in his favor. But with Alcaraz coming out on top, Sinner now faces an uphill battle in the final stretch of the season.

Still to come in 2025 are two big tournaments — the ATP Masters 1000 events in Shanghai and Paris — and the season-ending ATP Finals. Alcaraz has already finished as year-end No. 1 once, in 2022. If he does it again, he’ll join just 10 other players who have achieved that more than once. He would also become only the second Spaniard, after Rafael Nadal, to do so.

Both Alcaraz and Sinner have already secured their spots at this year’s ATP Finals.

Meanwhile, Ben Shelton (5th) and Lorenzo Musetti (8th) are pushing to qualify for the Finals for the first time. Musetti is just 80 points ahead of Jack Draper, who was also in the race — until he announced his withdrawal for the rest of the season due to an arm injury.

Draper, who won his first Masters 1000 title earlier this year at Indian Wells, will now focus on recovery and returning strong in 2026.