Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are currently dominating the ATP Tour, with the Italian holding the No. 1 ranking at 12,030 points and the Spaniard close behind at 8,590. While there is a significant gap between both stars, Alexander Zverev trails even further behind in third place with 6,380 points.
Despite the sizable gap between Sinner and Alcaraz and the rest of the field, former World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev issued a clear warning to both players about a potential “third guy” who could challenge them.
“Jannik and Carlos are playing amazing, they are the top two at the moment and they are playing better than everyone else, but never underestimate a third guy who is going to come and challenge them,” Medvedev told ATPTour.com.
The numbers back up their dominance. The last seven Grand Slam titles have been shared exclusively between them. Alcaraz has lifted the trophy at Roland Garros in 2024 and 2025, as well as Wimbledon in 2024.
Jannik Sinner of Italy poses with the Gentlemen’s Singles Trophy alongside Carlos Alcaraz of Spain after the 2025 Wmbledon final. (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Sinner has captured the Australian Open in both 2024 and 2025, the 2024 US Open, and most recently Wimbledon. Still, Medvedev believes it’s only a matter of time before another contender crashes the party.
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Drawing parallels to the ‘Big Three’ era
Medvedev compared the current landscape to the early days of the “Big Three” — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic. Back then, Nadal and Federer appeared to have a stranglehold on tennis’s biggest prizes until Djokovic broke through and eventually surpassed them.
“I remember Roger and Rafa: when Rafa was 20 or 21, he had already won two or three Roland Garros titles,” Medvedev recalled. “When he won Wimbledon for the first time, it was his first Grand Slam outside Roland Garros. At that point, everyone thought they were going to share all the Grand Slams — and then this one Serbian guy came along a little later and won more than them”.
Medvedev knows the feeling of breaking through against an established order. In 2021, he defeated Djokovic to win the US Open, becoming the first player since 2004 outside of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, and Andy Murray to reach No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings.
