After French Open, Italians rise in pro tennis rankings
Jun 11, 2024
Bravo Italia! After the French Open, two Italian players have surged up the rankings. Jannik Sinner and Jasmine Paolini have moved up to No. 1 and No. 7 respectively — making the country of Italy very proud.
On the men's side, Jannik Sinner has risen to the top spot in the PIF ATP Rankings. Remarkably, he is the first-ever Italian man or woman to reach World No. 1 in singles since computerized rankings were introduced in 1973.
The 22-year-old began the year at World No. 4. Sinner’s rise to No.1 brings Djokovic’s record 428 total weeks at the top to a close. Sinner joins a list of just six active players who have ascended to World No. 1: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Daniil Medvedev, and Carlos Alcaraz.
Sinner enjoyed a remarkable run to kick off 2024, highlighted by his first major title at the Australian Open, an ATP Masters 1000 title in Miami and semifinals at Indian Wells, Monte-Carlo, and Roland Garros. Sinner is now the 29th player to stand at the summit of men’s professional tennis.
On the women's side, Jasmine Paolini has broken into the WTA Top 10 for the first time in her career following her debut Grand Slam singles final at Roland Garros. She's the first Italian woman to reach a singles Grand Slam final since Vinci and Pennetta contested the US Open title match in 2015.
The 28-year-old has risen to World No.7 in the PIF WTA Rankings becoming the fifth Italian woman to crack the elite ranking bracket after Francesca Schiavone, Flavia Pennetta, Sara Errani and most recently Roberta Vinci, who was last in the Top 10 in September 2016.
Paolini has enjoyed a breakout 12 months on the Hologic WTA Tour. In addition to her fairytale run to the final in Paris, she captured her first WTA 1000 title at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in February. Last year, she made the finals at WTA 250 tournaments at the Jasmin Open Monastir and on her home soil in Italy at the 34 Ladies Palermo Open.
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