ATP Tour

Why Sinner could be primed for another extended stay at World No. 1

Jannik Sinner did more than just successfully defend his Wimbledon title this fortnight. The Italian has put himself in great position for an extended reign as the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings.

Entering the tournament, there was potential for the 24-year-old to let slip his advantage. After falling in the second round of Roland Garros, the pressure was on Sinner to make a deep run at Wimbledon to avoid losing 2,000 points from his title victory one year ago.

Alexander Zverev entered the grass-court major at World No. 3, 6,260 points behind Sinner. But defending just 10 points after losing in the first round in 2025, the German had the potential to add 1,990 points, while Sinner could have dropped the same amount.

PIF ATP Live Rankings (as of 12 July 2026)

However unlikely, that would have led to a 3,980-point swing. The good news for Sinner is that he held up his end, retaining the trophy for his fifth major title and with it, he kept his 2,000 points.

But Zverev advanced to the final, adding 1,290 points to his tally and narrowing his deficit to the 24-year-old. That made Sunday’s championship match even more critical. Had Zverev won, he would have clawed to within 3,570 points. Instead, Sinner is 4,970 points ahead of the German.

This will be the 14th week of Sinner’s current stint at the top of the sport and he has a very healthy buffer ahead of the rest of the field.

Sinner is defending 5,500 points the rest of the season compared to 1,980 for Zverev, a significant 3,520-point difference. But even if both players dropped those points today, Sinner would still be in the lead by 1,450 points.

With that in mind, Sinner is very much in control of the World No. 1 ranking.

“He's still the best player in the world. I do believe that. I think he is,” Zverev said after the final. “I do believe there's only two, maybe three guys — probably three guys with Novak, you have to give Novak that — who can challenge him. All of us have to be working for that goal. I'll continue working for that goal.”

But Sinner will be working to keep his position. When he first climbed to the top of the men’s tennis mountain in 2024, he held on to World No. 1 for 65 consecutive weeks.

It is early to tell if Sinner will be able to craft another stint of such length at the very top. But this is already his 80th total week as World No. 1, tied with Lleyton Hewitt for the 10th-most weeks at No. 1 in history (since 1973). There are 29 members in the prestigious ATP No. 1 Club.

Ninth-placed Andre Agassi was No. 1 for 101 weeks, and eighth-placed Bjorn Borg was there for 109 weeks. While those totals are still months away, it is clear that Sinner is charging in their direction.