ATP rankings: who’s earning all the points?

Published by Matt Trollope

Stan Wawrinka is ranked fourth and sits at fifth in the Race, despite a patchy, injury-marred season; Getty Images
Looking at the upper reaches of the ATP rankings, there are a number of players whose high rankings raise some eyebrows.

Andy Murray is the world No.2. Stan Wawrinka is ranked No.4. Novak Djokovic is fifth.

They’re certainly not playing like it. In fact, two of them are not playing at all.

And they’re not the only players whose ATP rankings seem out of sync with the level they’ve attained in 2017. Kei Nishikori is 10th. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 12th. But both have had pretty forgettable seasons.

RELATED: Rafa up to No.1, Muguruza ascends

There is the possibility that with the two-best performed players this year, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, scooping the bulk of the ranking points on offer, there’s less left over for other players. Basically, one or two good tournament results can separate that player from the parity of the remaining pack and artificially inflate their ranking.

But it only explains the situation to some degree.

Nadal, who returned to world No.1 this week after a three-year gap, has apparently accrued the lowest points total of any world No.1 since the new points structure was introduced. He has also failed to win a title away from clay, although he has reached big hardcourt finals in Australia and Miami.

Federer, meanwhile, has reached world No.3 – and No.2 in the ATP Race to London – on the strength of just eight tournaments. He lost his opening matches at two of them. And he was also absent from the entire claycourt swing.

The Race is perhaps more indicative of true standing in the game at this stage of the season; Murray, Djokovic and Wawrinka are still propped up in the 12-month rolling rankings by their excellent results during last year’s US Open and season-ending fall swing.

But according to the Race list, Djokovic and Murray are still in the top 10 – and in contention for London – despite by their standards fairly wretched seasons. Wawrinka is even higher in the Race, at No.5. Neither Djokovic or Wawrinka will appear in London, shutting down their seasons early to rehabilitate persistent injuries.

We break it down further, and ask the question – how can the following players be ranked as high as they are?

Andy Murray (Ranking: 2 / Race: 9)

  • has won a single ATP tournament (500 in Dubai)
  • hasn’t reached a Grand Slam final in the past 12 months
  • just 25-10 this season
  • hasn’t played since Wimbledon

Stan Wawrinka (Ranking: 4 / Race: 5)

  • has won one minor ATP tournament (250 in Geneva)
  • win-loss record of 26-11
  • fell before the quarterfinals at seven of his 12 events
  • hasn’t played since Wimbledon

Novak Djokovic (Ranking: 5 / Race: 8)

  • has won two minor ATP events (250s in Doha, Eastbourne)
  • has not progressed beyond the quarters at a Grand Slam this year
  • skipped Miami, hasn’t played since Wimbledon

 Dominic Thiem (Ranking: 8 / Race: 4)

  • has won a single title in 2017 (500 in Rio)
  • has failed to progress beyond the quarters at any tournament away from clay
  • during his most productive swing (European clay) he didn’t win a title
  • since Roland Garros, his win-loss record is just 6-6

 Kei Nishikori (Ranking: 10 / Race: 13)

  • hasn’t won a title this year
  • has failed to progress beyond the quarters at all Grand Slams and Masters events
  • has reached two small finals (250s in Brisbane, Buenos Aires)
  • 11 of his 13 losses in 2017 have come against lower-ranked players

 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Ranking: 12 / Race: 16)

  • in the past six months, has a win-loss record of 8-7
  • has not gone beyond the second round at any ATP Masters event in 2017
  • has three titles (500 Rotterdam, 250 Marseille, Lyon); outside of them, win-loss record is 12-10.
Share this: 
  • Most popular articles

24 November 2019

Spain v Canada set for Davis Cup final

Spain defeated Great Britain 2-1 on Saturday night in Madrid to set up a Davis Cup final a... More

15 September 2016

The 10 most influential players in the history of tennis

The greatest champions, goes the old adage, are those who leave their sport better than th... More

30 December 2019

Second-serve return in the men’s game: an exploration

Nick Kyrgios’ first-round win over Andrey Rublev at last year’s Kremlin Cup in Moscow ... More

16 February 2017

Men’s and women’s tennis: as different as believ...

In the first part of our series analysing the similarities and differences between men's ... More