Sep 7, 2025; Flushing, NY, USA; Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) shakes hands with Jannik Sinner (ITA) after the final of mens singles at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

tennis

ATP Shanghai Masters 2025 – Can Jannik Sinner Regain World No. 1 Ranking From Carlos Alcaraz By Winning in Shanghai?

Sinner is the defending champ; Alcaraz set to skip Shanghai.

Sep 7, 2025; Flushing, NY, USA; Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) shakes hands with Jannik Sinner (ITA) after the final of mens singles at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Italian giant Jannik Sinner is currently in a fight for the World No. 1 ranking with Carlos Alcaraz. The Spaniard famously dethroned Sinner by beating him in the 2025 US Open final. While both players went on to pick up a title at Beijing and Tokyo respectively, Alcaraz has announced that he will not be taking part in the ATP Rolex Shanghai Masters due to an injury concern. Does this open the door for Sinner to reclaim his lost ranking?

Alcaraz and Sinner are leading a new generation of dominance on the men’s circuit. The duo has split the last eight Grand Slams, and also won 16 of the last 17 tournaments where both of them have participated. They also faced each other in three out of the four major finals in 2025 – with the 22-year-old current No. 1 winning two of them. With Shanghai and Paris Bercy being the last two Masters-1000s before the ATP Finals, it will be interesting to see who capitalizes on their current form.

Will Jannik Sinner Become World No. 1 Over Carlos Alcaraz By Winning the Rolex Shanghai Masters 2025?

Rolex Shanghai Masters unveils a terracotta statue of Jannik Sinner.

Too cool.

🇨🇳🦊

pic.twitter.com/t0fOmYEIE5
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) October 2, 2025

No, Jannik Sinner cannot reclaim the World No. 1 ranking from Carlos Alcaraz in Shanghai. The Italian is the defending champion at the Chinese event, and will be defending 1000 points over the next fortnight. 24-year-old Sinner (10,950 points) is currently 590 points behind Alcaraz (11,540 points) in the ATP Rankings. When it comes to the Live ATP Race to Turin, the Italian is 2,580 points behind his Spanish counterpart.

The four-time Grand Slam champion is searching for his fourth title of the season at Shanghai. Unfortunately, the rest of his 2025 campaign is full of challenges – he is defending winner’s points in Shanghai as well as the Nitto ATP Finals. On the other hand, Alcaraz was a quarterfinalist in Shanghai last year, lost in the Round of 16 at Paris Bercy, and was eliminated in the Group Stage in Turin.

“It’s going to be a very difficult and tough challenge, especially the first round match,” said Sinner ahead of his title defense. He will open his account in the Round of 64 against 27-year-old Daniel Altmaier of Germany. “You never know what’s going to happen, so let’s see. But obviously I’m very happy to be back here and play in front of the Shanghai fans.”

21 titles and counting for Jannik Sinner 🏆👏 pic.twitter.com/3noua4glP7
— Sky Sports Tennis (@SkySportsTennis) October 1, 2025

Can Jannik Sinner secure another title in Shanghai, and bridge the gap between himself and Carlos Alcaraz? The fight for year-end No. 1 is certainly getting more exciting than ever before!

(Image Credits: Robert Deutsch, Imagn Images)

ATP

ATP 1000

Carlos Alcaraz

Jannik Sinner

Jannik Sinner Carlos Alcaraz

Rolex Shanghai Masters

Shanghai Masters 2025

Tennis

Sankalp Harikrishnan

A passionate sports fan through and through, I am currently pursuing my MA in Global Sports Journalism. I specialise in tennis and football writing at The Playoffs News, and I have prior experience working at EssentiallySports and Sportskeeda. Born and raised in Bengaluru, India, sport was my safe space right from my childhood. After trying my hand at multiple sports and representing my educational institutions in cricket, badminton and table tennis, I found sports media to be my calling.