None of tennis’ Big Three — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic — woke up Monday No. 1 or No. 2 in the ATP rankings, the first time that has happened in nearly 20 years.
Daniil Medvedev moved up a spot to return to the top of the ranks, where he was briefly at the start of this season, and Alexander Zverev reached a career-high ranking of No. 2.
Djokovic slipped from first to third place, having his points deducted for his French Open triumph last year. The ATP rankings are calculated based on the 18 best results of a tennis player in the previous 52 weeks (19 if he has managed to participate in the ATP Finals).
There were no major changes in the WTA rankings, with Iga Swiatek installed at the top. The only variation within the women’s Top 20 was Aryna Sabalenka’s jump from sixth to fifth place, exchanging with Maria Sakkari.
The 2021 edition of the French Open was delayed a week from the original date on the calendar due to the coronavirus pandemic, so the points earned for that tournament are only now discounted. The points of the most recent Roland Garros were added last week, since the final was played on June 5.
In Paris this year, Djokovic floundered in the quarterfinals, losing to Nadal, who went on to win his 14th clay-court championship — extending his record for Grand Slam crowns to 22.
Nadal remains number 4 this week, despite having won the first two majors of the season. The Spanish star missed almost all of the second half in 2021 and part of it, so he has 10 tournaments in his 52-week record.
Casper Ruud, runner-up at Roland Garros, moved up a notch, reaching a career high of number 5.
Federer has undergone several operations on his knee and has not been able to compete since Wimbledon last July. The Swiss has barely scored points in four tournaments and was 68th in the rankings this week.
Federer was number 3 in the world, behind first Andy Roddick and second Juan Carlos Ferrero, in the week of November 10, 2003, with Nadal outside the top 40 and Serbian Djokovic — who would make his Grand Slam debut in 2005 — dropped out of the Top 500. A week later, Federer would jump to second place.
Medvedev reached number one in February, replacing Djokovic for three weeks. He returns to the top after finishing runner-up in a tournament in the Netherlands.
Both Medvedev and Zverev will be absent from Wimbledon. Medvedev is Russian, and the All England Club vetoed the participation of all tennis players from that country and Belarus after the invasion of Ukraine. Zverev will miss the Slam on grass after undergoing ligament surgery on his right ankle that he injured during his French Open semi-final against Nadal.