Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner achieved rare levels of ranking dominance in 2025

This week on Tennis.com, we're featuring five storylines—one a day—that came out of the ATP and WTA's year-end rankings.

So far, we've covered how this is the first time since 2004 that four American women finished a year inside the Top 10, Novak Djokovic becoming the oldest player to finish a year inside the Top 4 in ATP rankings history, Lorenzo Musetti single-handedly keeping the one-handed backhand year-end Top 10 streak alive, and Coco Gauff becoming the youngest woman this century to finish in the Top 3 for three straight years.

Today, a rare level of dominance from a dynamic duo.

The ATP’s year-end rankings came out last week, and the final points at the top tell the entire story of the 2025 season.

Carlos Alcaraz finished at No. 1 with 12,050 ranking points, Jannik Sinner finished at No. 2 with 11,500 ranking points, and the gap from there to No. 3—6,340 points—could be ranked No. 3 itself, as Alexander Zverev finished at No. 3 with 5,160 points.

And that separation should come as no surprise, as Alcaraz and Sinner almost completely shut out the rest of the field at the biggest tournaments of the year—between them, they won eight of the nine biggest ATP ranking point hauls of the season, and 13 of the 19 that were 1,000 ranking points or more.

THE 19 BIGGEST ATP RANKING POINT HAULS OF 2025 (and who won them):

• 2,000: Sinner [Australian Open title]
• 2,000: Alcaraz [Roland Garros title]
• 2,000: Sinner [Wimbledon title]
• 2,000: Alcaraz [US Open title]
• 1,500: Sinner [ATP Finals title, undefeated]
• 1,300: Zverev [Australian Open final]
• 1,300: Sinner [Roland Garros final]
• 1,300: Alcaraz [Wimbledon final]
• 1,300: Sinner [US Open final]
• 1,020: Vacherot [Shanghai title, as qualifier]
• 1,000: Draper [Indian Wells title]
• 1,000: Mensik [Miami title]
• 1,000: Alcaraz [Monte Carlo title]
• 1,000: Ruud [Madrid title]
• 1,000: Alcaraz [Rome title]
• 1,000: Shelton [Toronto title]
• 1,000: Alcaraz [Cincinnati title]
• 1,000: Sinner [Paris title]
• 1,000: Alcaraz [ATP Finals final]

Focusing in on Alcaraz and Sinner, they both pulled off very impressive individual achievements with their seasons.

First of all, with 12,050, Alcaraz is the first man to finish a season with 12,000 or more ranking points since Novak Djokovic in 2020 (12,030), and it’s the most ranking points a man has earned in a single season since Andy Murray in 2016 (12,410).

The Spaniard’s total is even more impressive given he earned 88% of it (10,640) between April and November, with only 12% of it (1,410) to defend in the first three months of next year.

MOST POINTS EARNED IN A SINGLE SEASON, LAST 10 YEARS (from ATP year-end rankings each year):

• 2025: Carlos Alcaraz [12,050]
• 2024: Jannik Sinner [11,830]
• 2023: Novak Djokovic [11,245]
• 2022: Carlos Alcaraz [6,820]
• 2021: Novak Djokovic [11,540]
• 2020: Novak Djokovic [12,030]
• 2019: Rafael Nadal [9,985]
• 2018: Novak Djokovic [9,045]
• 2017: Rafael Nadal [10,645]
• 2016: Andy Murray [12,410] (Djokovic finished the year at No. 2 with 11,780]

Meanwhile, with 11,830 last year and 11,500 this year, Sinner is the first man to finish back-to-back years with 11,000 or more ranking points since Djokovic in 2020 (12,030) and 2021 (11,540).

And as a pair, they're the first two men to both finish with 11,000 or more points in a single season—or even 10,000 or more—since 2016, when Murray had 12,410 and Djokovic had 11,780.

One last nugget to finish off the series.

Alcaraz, Sinner and Zverev—who finished 2025 at No. 1, No. 2 and No.3 and 2024 at No. 3, No. 1 and No. 2, respectively—are just the second trio of players this century to finish as the year-end Top 3 in back-to-back years together, in any order.

The other trio of players to achieve that feat this century is, of course, the Big 3—and they did it seven times.

SAME THREE PLAYERS FINISHING IN TOP 3 IN BACK-TO-BACK YEARS IN ATP RANKINGS HISTORY (since 1973):

• Connors, Borg, Vilas [1977-1978]
• Borg, McEnroe, Connors [1979-1980]
• McEnroe, Connors, Lendl [1981-1984]
• Lendl, Edberg, Becker [1989-1990]
• Federer, Nadal, Djokovic [2007-2011, 2018-2019]
• Alcaraz, Sinner, Zverev [2024-2025]