© Reuters
The 2024 tennis circuit is about to jump into full gear, and the Pepperstone Association of Tennis Professionals has given us an inside look at the rankings. Entering the season, the rankings will include young players who are new to the rankings, but what about consistently ranked players? Today, we are looking at five men's tennis players who have been at the top of the rankings for several seasons and see how they match up.
Novak Djokovic
Why not start with the world's top-ranked tennis player? The rankings look different than they did ten years ago, but Djokovic is one of the few players stuck around. He earned his first top ranking in July of 2011 and has held the top ranking for a record total of 406 weeks, including finishing the year as the world's #1 ranked player a record eight times. That includes 2021 and 2023, allowing Djokovic to start 2024 as the top player in the world at 36 years old. The Serbian is regarded by many as the greatest tennis player of all time, a stunning observation given that he came onto the scene at the height of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal's success. At that time, many considered either Federer or Nadal the greatest ever.He holds the record with 24 major championships, and even in his late 30s, he won three of the four Grand Slam singles last season. While 2015 was Djokovic's most remarkable season and perhaps one of the greatest seasons of all time, last year was record-breaking. He came close to a Grand Slam, falling just short with a loss to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final, one of the most epic tennis games of the year.
Despite being advanced in age, Djokovic was as good as ever last season and still shows no evidence of slowing down. He will head to the Australian Open in January as the prohibitive favourite.
© ReutersDaniil Medvedev
Few players in the sport have had as much prolonged success with fewer Major wins than Medvedev. In February 2022, he became the first man outside Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, and Andy Murray to hold the world's top ranking since 2004. This was thanks to a 2021 season that saw him win his first-ever major championship at the US Open and reach the Australian Open final. Since 2019, Medvedev has finished each season ranked in the top five in 2022, where he finished 7th. He ended last season behind Djokovic and Alcaraz but will look to take that next step.Medvedev had a strong 2023 season, winning his 300th match and 20th career title. After dropping out of the top 10 briefly, Medvedev won the ABN AMRO Open, Qatar ExxonMobil Open, and Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championship in consecutive weeks. He didn't drop a set in the final tournament and defeated the top-seeded Djokovic, snapping his 20-match winning streak. This bumped him back into the top 10 at #6, ultimately moving up to #3 by the end of the season.
Rafael Nadal
The biggest shakeup in tennis rankings from last season was Nadal's exit from the top 100 for the first time in 20 years. Injuries, including a nagging hip injury, caused his play on the court to struggle. As the Australian Open's defending champion, Nadal was quickly dropped in the second round and withdrew from multiple February tournaments to recover. He dropped out of the top 10 for the first time since 2005, the longest top-10 streak in history.He dropped out of the French Open and didn't return for the grass season or hard-court season, failing to qualify as a world tour finalist. It was the worst season of Nadal's career. However, he hinted at playing again in 2024, where the 37-year-old will attempt to recapture his previous form.
© ReutersCarlos Alcaraz
The young and upstart player of the group, Alcaraz, is quickly emerging as one of the next faces of tennis. In 2022, he became the youngest man and first teenager to win the US Open. Alcaraz followed that performance up with another Grand Slam win in 2023, defeating defending champion Djokovic at Wimbledon. Alcaraz finished the season as the #2 ranked player behind Djokovic thanks to six titles, two major semi final appearances at the French Open and US Open, and his win at Wimbledon. He spent over 30 weeks at the top of the rankings as well.Stefanos Tsitsipas
Stefanos Tsitsipas looks destined for the Hall of Very Good. The 25-year-old has never been lower than #6 in the year-end rankings since 2019 but has never been higher than #4. He has been blocked by Djokovic and others before and now looks to be blocked by the likes of Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. He has twice reached a major final, including at last year's Australian Open, but has yet to win one. Further, he has struggled against his rivals, with Medvedev winning nine of their 13 matchups and Alcaraz winning both matches they played last season.With that said, Tsitsipas should be commended for his consistency. He has been in the top 10 for five consecutive seasons and, at just 25 years old, still has an upside to take that next step.
