RANKING REACTION: ALCARAZ AND RUUD RISE TO NO. 1 AND NO. 2; COCO GAUFF MAKES TOP 10 DEBUT
RANKING REACTION: ALCARAZ AND RUUD RISE TO NO. 1 AND NO. 2; COCO GAUFF MAKES TOP 10 DEBUT: The new Association of Tennis Professionals rankings is out. The 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz is the youngest man to reach No. 1. Moreover, he rose from his previous career-high of No. 4 to the top spot. In addition, he captured the first Grand Slam title of his career at the US Open.
Alcaraz is actually the first teenager ever to reach No. 1 on the ATP rankings.
YOUNGEST NO. 1s IN ASSOCIATION OF TENNIS PROFESSIONALS RANKINGS HISTORY
- Carlos Alcaraz: 19 years, 4 months [12th of September, 2022]
- Lleyton Hewitt: 20 years, 9 months [19th of November, 2001]
- Marat Safin: 20 years, 10 months [20th of November, 2000]
- John McEnroe: 21 years, 1 month [3rd of March, 1980]
- Andy Roddick: 21 years, 2 months [3rd of November, 2003]
“I never thought that I was going to achieve something like that at 19 years old. So everything came so fast,” Alcaraz said. He expressed this after becoming the US Open champion and No. 1.
“For me it is unbelievable. It is something I dreamed since I was a kid since I started playing tennis. Of course, lifting this trophy today is amazing for me.”
Right behind Alcaraz is Casper Ruud. Moreover, he jumped from No. 7 to No. 2. In addition, he went past his previous career-high of No. 5. In the first place, he reached his second Grand Slam final of the year at the US Open. Also, he was the runner-up at Roland Garros. He surrendered to Rafael Nadal.
Moreover, at 19 and 23 years old, respectively, Alcaraz and Ruud became the second-youngest Top 2 in ATP rankings history. Moreover, Jimmy Connors and Bjorn Borg were 22 and 18 respectively when they occupied the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in 1975.
In addition, Karen Khachanov rose from No. 31 to No. 18. This was his first time in the Top 20 in a year and a half. American Frances Tiafoe rose to No. 19, his Top 20 debut. In addition, he reached his first major semifinal. Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios rose from No. 25 to No. 20. Moreover, this was his first time in the Top 20 in two and a half years. In addition, he reached his second straight Grand Slam quarterfinal.
WOMEN’S TENNIS ASSOCIATION RANKINGS
Meanwhile, over on the Women’s Tennis Association rankings, there are four very notable moves in the Top 10. In addition, Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur rose from No. 5 to No. 2. She achieved this after reaching her second straight Grand Slam final at the US Open. in addition, American Jessica Pegula rose from No. 8 to No. 5, her Top 5 debut. She grabbed it after reaching her third major quarterfinal of the year. Moreover, Coco Gauff rose from No. 12 to No. 8, her Top 10 debut. She moved up after making her first US Open quarterfinal. In addition, former No. 4 Caroline Garcia makes a jump from No. 17 to No. 10. She achieved this after reaching the first major semifinal of her career in New York.
At 18 years old, Gauff becomes the youngest woman to break into the Top 10 of the WTA rankings in more than 16 years. 17-year-old Nicole Vaidisova first cracked this elite position in 2006. Also, Coco becomes the first American teenager to debut in the Top 10. In addition, 17-year-old Serena Williams first achieved this feat in the year 1999.
And further down the rankings, Serena almost halves her ranking jumping from No. 605 to No. 321. She made her run to the third round of the US Open. Moreover, she took out World No. 2, Anett Kontaveit. But, eventually surrendered to Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic.