Carlos Alcaraz finishing behind Alexander Zverev in 2024 year-end rankings baffles Roger Federer's ex-coach

Roger Federer's former coach, Paul Annacone raised questions about the ATP ranking system after Carlos Alcaraz finished behind Alexander Zverev on the year-end ranking. Alcaraz held the World No. 3 spot while Zverev occupied the No. 2 ranking.

Jannik Sinner maintained his supremacy on the ATP Tour from start to finish, winning eight titles and ending the year as the World No. 1 with 11,830 points. Behind him, the equation is a bit tighter with Alexander Zverev at the World No. 2 spot with 7,915 points and Carlos Alcaraz, 905 points behind the German, at World No. 3.

Paul Annacone, who currently serves as head coach for World No. 4 Taylor Fritz, was asked about his thoughts on ATP ranking and Alcaraz ending the year below someone who did not win a Slam.

In the recent episode of 'The Tennis Channel Inside-In' podcast, Annacone said that while Zverev had an amazing year and had the points to pip Alcaraz in the ranking, officials need to take another look at the ranking system so a two-Grand Slam champion finishes higher than World No. 3.

"In my opinion, Sasha Zverev's had an amazing year," Annacone said. "The points don't lie. He played an unbelievable amount of tennis but if you win two majors and you're not ranked two in the world, that to me says that there's a glitch in the system."

Alcaraz ended the season behind Zverev despite winning two Grand Slam titles this year. The young Spaniard lifted his maiden French Open title after beating Zverev in the final and successfully defended his crown at the Wimbledon Championship. Consequently, the Spaniard became the sixth man in tennis history to complete the Channel Slam, winning Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year.

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Carlos Alcaraz won more titles than Alexander Zverev on ATP Tour 2024

Carlos Alcaraz pictured at the 2024 French Open (Source: Getty)

Carlos Alcaraz did not only perform better than Alexander Zverev at Grand Slam level but also lifted more titles than the German in 2024. In addition to the French Open and Wimbledon, Alcaraz won his second Indian Wells Masters, bettering Daniil Medvedev in the final and defeating Jannik Sinner in the final of the ATP 500 China Open in Beijing.

Carlos Alcaraz also took home his maiden Olympic medal after winning the men's singles silver in Paris. Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev won two titles in 2024, both at the Masters-1000 level. The German got the better of Nicolas Jarry in the Italian Open finale and Ugo Humbert in the title showdown at the Paris Masters.

Zverev finished ahead of Alcaraz in the ATP ranking by playing more tournaments and making deep runs at many of them. Zverev played 21 tournaments this year compared to Alcaraz's 18. He also finished runners-up at the Roland Garros and ATP 500 Hamburg Open, reached the semifinals at the Australian Open, Masters 1000 events in Miami and Cincinnati, and the ATP Finals.