Where they are now vs Where they were one year ago ft. Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev

The 2025 season is still very young as we have only seen the first month of it, but that gives us a chance to look back at how the 2024 season looked at this time of the year. The best way to compare how the landscape of tennis has changed compared to last year is to simply look at the rankings.

After all, that’s the one metric that applies to all players the same way. It’s based on the number of points they earned in the past year, and the rankings are not the same as last year.

February of 2024: Novak Djokovic on Top

Champions Park - Olympic Games Paris 2024: Day 10 - Source: Getty

1. Novak Djokovic

2. Carlos Alcaraz

3. Jannik Sinner

4. Daniil Medvedev

5. Andrey Rublev

6. Alexander Zverev

7. Holger Rune

8. Herbert Hurkacz

9. Taylor Fritz

10. Stefanos Tsitsipas

This was the ranking in the first week of February last year. Novak Djokovic was still on top, even though he was beaten early at the Australian Open by Jannik Sinner, leading to a loss of some points. Carlos Alcaraz kept himself at number two courtesy of his consistent performances while Sinner was able to solidify himself as the number three player in the world thanks to his Australian Open win.

Daniil Medvedev, who lost to the Italian in the final of the Melbourne Major, was ranked fourth at that time, one spot ahead of Andrey Rublev. Alexander Zverev was number six as he was still slowly getting back from the ankle injury he suffered at Roland Garros.

The final four were Holger Rune, Hubert Hurkacz, Taylor Fritz and Stefanos Tsitsipas. It’s an interesting list looking back from the POV of February 2025. Djokovic was still on top, holding the number one ranking, and few anticipated the decline that would follow in the next couple of months.

Alcaraz was still the presumptive heir, even though Sinner had just won his maiden Grand Slam title. For a good portion of the 2024 season, the Spaniard remained ahead of Sinner in the pecking order, largely due to winning both the French Open and Wimbledon titles back-to-back, a significant achievement.

It wasn’t until the latter part of 2024, when the tour shifted to the hard courts, that Sinner truly elevated himself as the World No. 1, a position that he still holds. Daniil Medvedev was still rated highly, having just played in the final. Andrey Rublev seemed in control of his career with very few knowing about his depression issues at the time.

Alexander Zverev didn’t yet showcase the rise he would have in 2024, although the run to the semi-final in Melbourne was a clear sign he was heading that way. Holger Rune was still somewhat good without any indication that he would play a pretty lackluster 2024 season.

Hubert Hurkacz was the beacon of consistency that an injury in 2024 would derail. Tsitsipas was slowly starting to fade away even though he would fade away even more throughout 2024. Taylor Fritz seemed destined to cement himself as the best player from the US, which he was able to do.

February 2025: Jannik Sinner on top

2025 Australian Open Men's Champion Media Opportunity - Source: Getty

Before we dive into the list from this year, we have to note that some of these changes are surprising while others are quite expected. All of them will, however, be put into context in light of what happened in 2024.

1. Jannik Sinner (+2)

2. Alexander Zverev (+4)

3. Carlos Alcaraz (-1)

4. Taylor Fritz (+5)

5. Casper Ruud (NR)

6. Novak Djokovic (-5)

7. Daniil Medvedev (-3)

8. Alex de Minaur (NR)

9. Tommy Paul (NR)

10. Andrey Rublev (-5)

When you compare 2024 list to the one above, you can see a couple of changes. Jannik Sinner was able to become the best player in the world, and after winning the 2025 Australian Open, that position is more than justified. Alexander Zverev also improved his ranking by four spots thanks to an amazingly consistent year where he proved to truly be one of the best players in the world. By making the final at this year’s Australian Open, he only further cemented that spot on the rankings as more than deserved.

Carlos Alcaraz dropped down by one spot which isn’t that problematic, but it does prove that Sinner ultimately outplayed him overall in 2024. The Spaniard was able to win two Grand Slams, but in the last six months, which was the latter part of 2024, Sinner was clearly the better player.

Taylor Fritz was another player who had a pretty big 2024 year with some really consistent performances across the board. He played well both on hard courts and had a good run at Wimbledon, nearly making it to the semi-final. The run to the US Open final only solidified his ranking position, setting him up as a player to watch in 2025 who might possibly be able to challenge for his maiden Grand Slam trophy.

Casper Ruud returned to the top 10 in a pretty big fashion. After a not-so-good year, the Norwegian was able to once again establish himself as one of the better players in the world, which is realistic. Ruud being there is not a massive surprise and certainly a testament to his hard work because bouncing back from a setback is never easy.

Both Djokovic and Medvedev had overall down years in 2024. Djokovic dropped down 5 spots, which is at least in part due to not playing a full calendar. Medvedev also failed to really be that consistent force that he was in the past, and that continued in 2025. Djokovic did show a decent level in Australia but was betrayed by his body, which will remain a storyline for much of this year - whether his body can hold.

Tommy Paul is a newcomer who has earned his spot with pretty strong showings across the board. He is most dominant on hard courts, highlighted by his good performances at the US Open and Australian Open, but this has been a long time coming because Paul showed promise for a while. He’s finally there, and now it’s about taking the next step and winning big trophies, though many doubt that he has the level necessary to do so.

The same goes for Alex de Minaur, who was also able to find himself in the top 10 after a slow rise across several seasons. This was always in the cards for De Minaur, but it didn’t really happen until he put together some really strong and consistent performances in 2024.

Finally, we have Andrey Rublev, whose mental health struggles really took a toll on his results. He didn’t really look all too great in 2024 and didn’t really start great in 2025 either, so there is lots of work to be done or he might find himself following Stefanos Tsitsipas out of the top 10.

Overall, though, it’s pretty clear that the tennis landscape has changed quite a bit in the past year. Sometimes it doesn’t look that way because the players at the top have remained largely the same, with Sinner and Alcaraz looking like the best from this generation, but down the pecking order quite a few changes occurred, and that encapsulates tennis perfectly. It’s an ever-changing sport where nothing is constant, especially not rankings, and what is the norm today could be totally different in a couple of months.