The king of returning: Alcaraz leads Sinner in first serve return points won as he hunts down leading total

World number one Carlos Alcaraz is the dominant force on the ATP Tour at the moment, alongside his close rival Jannik Sinner. A huge reason for his incredible haul of wins and titles is his returning stats, with him currently sat second in most points won on their first serve return throughout their career.

The Spaniard is a very tricky customer to play against. You are in desperate need to be on a very good day and him on an off day to stand a chance, and even then that is not enough. There is very little weaknesses about his game, and is represented regularly on the court in the biggest events in the world.

He has won six Grand Slams, with two of them coming from the last three Grand Slams. While he completed a magical comeback against Sinner in the Roland Garros final, he could not do much about the rampant Italian in the Wimbledon final. However, he exerted his revenge in the US Open final. Whilst Sinner got the last laugh on court as he defended his ATP Finals title, it was not enough to push Alcaraz off his pedestal at the top of the rankings. He will be hoping to extend that lead coming into the new year with the Australian Open firmly on the 22-year-old's mind. He has never made it past the quarter-finals, achieved in 2024 and 2025.

Alcaraz is widely regarded as an exceptional returner, especially on second serves. However, his first serve stats are also very good. According to data from ATP, in 2025 he topped the list of players by points won on first serve returns. He achieved a very commendable 35%.

Right behind him was his nemesis Sinner with 33.6%. There is no surprise that these two are clear at the top of the list. Returning is a crucial part of the sport as players search for a key break of serve which would then give them the advantage in the set enroute to possible glory. There is a large gap between Alcaraz and Sinner in this category. Closely following in third is Francisco Cerundolo with 33.4%. Damir Dzumhur (32.8%) and Daniil Medvedev (32.7) complete the top five in the 2025 campaign.

If you look back in the archives over the prior three seasons, a clear pattern emerges at the top. Between 2023 and 2025, Alcaraz is once again head and shoulders above the chasing pack. An impressive showing of consistency adding to that, with him matching his 2025 season with 35% over the last three years. In second is the Aussie number one Alex de Minaur. He is the closest challenger to the six-time Grand Slam champion with 32.9%. Medvedev also boasts that same tally, backing up his reputation of being one of the best returners on the ATP Circuit. Sinner, languishing behind Alcaraz again, is in fourth with 32.6%, matching Cerundolo's numbers.

Alcaraz dominating these statistics in recent times is a seismic achievement in itself, but he is also challenging the all-time list. For his whole career, he is on 34.4% of first serve return points won. This is only behind former world number three Guillermo Coria. The retired Argentinian tennis player is considered one of the bets returners of a ball in tennis, with the stats backing up the theories with 36%. There is some work for Alcaraz to match or even surpass this tally, but with his young age and ridiculous potential, there is every chance that we could have a new leader on this list in the future.

Magnus Gustafsson and 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal find themselves behind Alcaraz with 34.2%. Wrapping up the top five is Jordi Arrese with 33.9%.