ATP Rankings Report – As of Oct. 14, 2024

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The two-week slog that was Shanghai is done.

And Jannik Sinner, already anointed the year-end No. 1, takes it with a competitive, but straight-set final over Novak Djokovic.

And with that, and the moves made there, come the other moves made across tennis over the last two weeks. That includes a suite of Challengers during the second week of the (mercifully) final extended Masters 1000 of the season.

In getting to the Shanghai final in his first tournament since the US Open, Djokovic moves up to No. 6 in the race for Turin. The question is – will he play?

But the overarching theme in this week’s rankings report is that glass ceiling: the top 100. A number of players got OH so close to breaking it this summer. And now, as the season winds down, they’ve fallen back from that arbitrary threshold that has proven elusive for so many.

WTA Rankings Report – As of Oct. 14, 2024

For the complete, updated ATP rankings list
for Monday, click here.

 

Taylor Fritz (USA): No. 7 ============> No. 6 (A good effort to get to the Shanghai semifinals, combined with Andrey Rublev’s early exit, puts Fritz at a new career high).

Alex de Minaur (AUS): No. 11 ============> No. 9 (Without doing a thing as he was out with injury and missed the Asian swing, de Minaur is back into the top 10 because of drops from Grigor Dimitrov and, notably, defending champion Hubert Hurkacz. He took a late entry into Antwerp this week and is the top seed).

Frances Tiafoe (USA): No. 17 ============> No. 15 (Tiafoe lost in the third round in Shanghai, but it was enough to bump Humbert and countryman Ben Shelton down and get to the top 15).

Gael Monfils (FRA): No. 46 ============> No. 41 (The 38-year-old had a good run in Shanghai and did well against nemesis Carlos Alcaraz in the round of 16. He moves up, but he’s also defending his ATP 250 title in Stockholm this week and with a bunch of guys right behind him in the rankings, that might well not stick).

Jakub Mensik (CZE): No. 65 ============> No. 51 (Still just 19, the promising Czech’s rise this year has been sidelined at times by injury. But he impressed in getting to the quarterfinals in Shanghai, beating Grigor Dimitrov and taking a set from Novak Djokovic, too).

David Goffin (BEL): No. 66 ============> No. 53 (In Melbourne in January, Goffin was struggling to get past Canadian Gabriel Diallo just to qualify for the main draw. He’s since turned it around, and had a nice run to the Shanghai quarterfinals).

James Duckworth (AUS): No. 75 ============> No. 63 (The 32-year-old Aussie is always money for effort. And he takes the Challenger in Hangzhou to make a nice move up the charts).

Fabio Fognini (ITA): No. 81 ============> No. 76 (His generation is slowly but surely saying goodbye. Meanwhile, 37-year-old Fognini is basically playing every week and grinding it out in the Challengers when he has to. He made the quarters at the one in Hangzhou).

Denis Shapovalov (CAN): No. 102 ============> No. 92 (Shapovalov turned his schedule upside down to jet down to China to squeeze in a rare venture into the qualifying. But it was at a Masters 1000, so probably worth the risk. It paid off, even though he lost in the second round to Ben Shelton. The Canadian back inside the top 100 now and his place in Melbourne should be secure, because he didn’t play after Wimbledon last year and so every point he earns is a plus).

Jesper de Jong (NED): No. 118 ============> No. 108 (De Jong, whose first-time Slam qualification in Australia in January was a joyous moment, is trying to avoid having to go the same route as he takes on the South American clay. He made the final at the Challenger Villa Maria, Argentina).

Learner Tien (USA): No. 148 ============> No. 124 (Still just 18, the American lefty moves up once again after winning the Fairfield Challenger final. He set a record that is as impressive for him as it was .. dubious for poor Bernard Tomic. Tien began the year at No. 473)

Kei Nishikori (JPN): No. 153 ============> No. 143 (Maybe not quite what he wanted, but Nishikori’s second-round exit in Shanghai was still worth another 10 spots in the rankings).

Bernard Tomic (AUS): No. 233 ============> No. 207 (He lives! Tomic made the Fairfield Challenger final. He’s been playing non-stop at the lower levels the last two years, with little to show for it. Although it … wasn’t his best effort. To say the least. Although perhaps too much on brand. He’s expected in Calgary for another Challenger next week).

Stan Wawrinka (SUI): No. 236 ============> No. 217 (Wawrinka won a round with a wild card in Shanghai, but while he was right there (again) against Flavio Cobolli in the second round – with some umpire drama thrown in – it wasn’t enough. Still, he moves up and he has another wild card in Stockholm this week).

Milos Raonic (CAN): No. 244 ============> No. 237 (It’s nothing he did; Raonic hasn’t played in awhile although he was named to the Canadian Davis Cup finals squad as a replacement for Félix Auger-Aliassime. He’s within range of the AO qualifying; wouldn’t it be great if he headed down?)

Andrey Rublev (RUS): No. 6 ============> No. 7 (Rublev lost early in Shanghai – in the second round to Mensik. And that combined with Fritz’s effort to get to the semifinals turned a 640-point lead into a 300-point deficit for the No. 6 spot. He took a late entry into Stockholm this week).

Hubert Hurkacz (POL): No. 8 ============> No. 12 (Hurkacz was a no-go to defend his 2023 title in Shanghai. So the loss of 950 ranking points means he drops four spots and is out of the top 10 for the first time in nearly a year).

Sebastian Korda (USA): No. 19 ============> No. 22 (Korda was another player MIA in Asia. And it turns out the reason is that he had elbow surgery last week. He’s out of the top 20, with his semifinal points from Shanghai in 2023 dropping. Korda reached his career high of No. 15 in mid-August after making the Montreal semis and beating Fritz and Zverev en route, and finally seemed on his way to fulfilling the promise so many have for him. But his last match was a second-round loss at the US Open).

Tomas Machac (CZE): No. 33 ============> No. 25 (A top-25 debut for the 24-year-old Czech, who went all the way to the semifinals in Shanghai).

Nicolas Jarry (CHI): No. 29 ============> No. 34 (Jarry did a good job last year in making the quarterfinals in Shanghai. This year, he lost to Wu Yibing in the second round and is out of a seeded spot – for now – in Melbourne).

Zhizhen Zhang (CHN): No. 41 ============> No. 46 (Zheng would have had expectations at his home Masters 1000 in Shanghai. But he was shocked by Zizou Bergs in the first round and drops points from making the fourth round a year ago – where he lost in a third-set tiebreak to eventual champ Hubert Hurkacz. He lost in the first round of Beijing as well; it’s all probably a hangover from his great run in the new Hangzhou tournament the week before that; Zhang made the final, losing two close tiebreaks to champion Marin Cilic).

Fabian Marozsan (HUN): No. 48 ============> No. 57 (Marozsan didn’t play Shanghai, so he drops big points from his huge quarterfinal result there a year ago. He beat Alex de Minaur and Casper Ruud on the way to a three-set defeat to eventual champion Hubert Hurkacz. Maroscan retired in the second round of a Challenger in Hangzhou nearly a month ago – his only action since the US Open. He’s back in action this week in Almaty, facing Borna Coric in the first round).

Aleksandar Kovacevic (USA): No. 76 ============> No. 90 (The growing pains of moving from the Challenger level to the big leagues show this week for the 26-year-old American, who played Shanghai but lost in the first round to Terence Atmane. As he did that, his points from winning a Challenger in Shenzhen a year ago drop off. And it’s not over, he has a Challenger semifinal to defend this week. And then another quarterfinal next month followed by a title in late November. He has work to do to get straight into the AO).

Alexander Ritschard (SUI): No. 99 ============> No. 107 (Tennis is the most fickle of mistresses. Just as the 30-year-old Swiss FINALLY broke the top-100 barrier, he drops out of it after not playing last week, and losing points from a quarterfinal at the Charlottesville Challenger last year. He returned in the qualifying in Stockholm this weekend as the No. 2 seed, but lost in the first round).

Mattia Bellucci (ITA): No. 101 ============> No. 106 (The top-100 scramble is real as Bellucci, who also came SO CLOSE to the top 100, getting to No. 101 just before the US Open. He qualified and made the second round in Shanghai – and then jetted to Roanne to play a Challenger. But he lost in the second round. Bellucci was defending a Challenger final in Malaga, and all that wasn’t enough to prevent a drop. He has another Challenger quarterfinal to defend this week).

Gabriel Diallo (CAN): No. 105 ============> No. 118 (Again with that top-100 theme. Diallo came so close after the US Open, getting to No. 103. But even though he made the semis at the Challenger in Hangzhou, it wasn’t enough to defend all of the points he earned winning a Challenger in Bratislava last year. He’s in the main draw at the ATP 250 in Kazakhstan, and hopefully can make it up. He has semifinal points from last year’s Calgary Challenger falling off next month, but otherwise – if he can get into the ATP events this fall – he should be in decent shape).

Zachary Svajda (USA): No. 131 ============> No. 163 (A tough drop for the 21-year-old American, who got SO close to breaking into the top 100 when he No. 102 just before the US Open. He lost in the second round in Hangzhou and drops most of the points earned last year in winning the Fairfield Challenger)

J.J. Wolf (USA): No. 171 ============> No. 218 (It’s been a rough year for the mulleted American, who lost his first-round match in Fairfield to Quebecer Alexis Galarneau and drops a bunch of points from making the fourth round in Shanghai a year ago. Wolf has lost his opener in 11 of his 22 events this season).

Dominic Thiem (AUT): No. 275 ============> No. 289 (It feels like Thiem is just biding his time until his career finale in Vienna in a few weeks. because he sure hasn’t played much – his last match was a first-round loss to Ben Shelton at the US Open. He has lost 9 of his last 11 matches, going back to a first-round win over Maximilian Marterer in Estoril last April).

Pedro Cachin (ARG): No. 253 ============> No. 291 (Last August, Cachin was at a career high No. 48. But it’s been a tough season. He’s lost his tournament opener a staggering … 20 times in 25 events).

Diego Schwartzman (ARG): No. 223 ============> No. 302 (Schwartzman is in a similar situation to Thiem, it seems. He probably could be playing those clay-court Challengers close to home. But he’s not; he hasn’t played since qualifying at the US Open and losing to Monfils in the first round. He intends to call it a career in Buenos Aires in February).

A list of the players in the top 150 who reached career highs on Monday.

Jack Draper (GBR) (No. 19)
Tomas Machac (CZE) (No. 25)
Pedro Martinez (ESP) (No. 38)
Juncheng Shang (CHN) (No. 49)
Jakub Mensik (CZE) (No. 51)
Alexandre Muller (FRA) (No. 69)
Zizou Bergs (BEL) (No. 70)
Harold Mayot (FRA) (No. 103)
Learner Tien (USA) (No. 124)
Jerome Kym (SUI) (No. 141)
Jaime Faria (POR) (No. 147)

You can see by the rush of players technically within reach of the final eight for Turin, who are jumping on the 250s this week, that we’re getting to that time. (Alex de Minaur and Andrey Rublev were late entries, too.

WTA Rankings Report – As of Oct. 7, 2024

ATP Rankings Report – As of Sept. 30, 2024

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