Where are the players who were ranked ahead of Sinner in 2020?

Jannik Sinner has created an immense reputation for himself. The five-time Grand Slam champion has become one of the best players on the ATP Tour, with him having sat at the top of the ATP rankings for a grand total of 89 weeks. This was not always the case, however, with tennis having moved swiftly on throughout the years.

The year is 2020. A 19-year-old Sinner finished the year 37th in the world. For context, when Carlos Alcaraz was the same age, he was a US Open champion and the World No.1. Sinner had to bide his time, but the signs were hugely promising. A first major quarter-final along with a maiden ATP Tour title at the Sofia Open, getting him on his merry way.

He has since risen past the elite of the sport into a different stratosphere compared to the competition. After winning his first Grand Slam in 2024 at the Australian Open, he rose to World No.3 before later that year snatching away the World No.1 spot from Novak Djokovic. He has not left the top two since. Despite undergoing a doping suspension and having the likes of Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev and Djokovic breathing down his neck, nothing has stopped him from making that ranking his own.

Since taking back top spot from Alcaraz at the Monte-Carlo Masters, the third of five successive Masters 1000 titles in 2026, no one has managed to even threaten him. Recently, Zverev’s US Open triumph mixed with some untimely negative injury news has seen the gap shrink to just under 2,000 points, but there is a sense that the Italian will not be flung off that pedestal anytime soon.

A 19-year-old Sinner would have looked on with awe and excitement at what he has achieved up to this current day. The tennis landscape was very different now compared to six years ago. ‘The Big Three’ were still a threat with a number of prior talented players who do not compete at the highest level on the ATP Tour enjoying their time among the elite.

It was Novak Djokovic who led the order at the end of 2020, the sixth of an eventual eight occurrences. The now 39-year-old is still competing among the best players in the world, despite his recent North American troubles. This year he has reached the final of the Australian Open and the semi-final of Wimbledon. Once a mainstay among the top three, Djokovic would finish the 2024 and 2025 seasons outside of this category for the first time since 2017 and before that, 2006. Currently sitting 12th in the world, he has 9,040 fewer points than what he had in 2020. Age has definitely been a factor, with the Serbian not competing as much.

Daniil Medvedev would be the next person to usurp Djokovic at the top of the rankings in 2022. At the time of making a name for himself, the Russian had solidified his name and was threatening to be one of the next big challengers as the 'Big Three' slowly dwindled down to a sudden halt. He was the second highest-ranked player still competing. Six years ago, he was in fourth.

Slightly further down, Alexander Zverev was not hitting the heights he had previously done. His first shot at US Open glory failed and he would finish seventh for the second consecutive year. In the present day, there is a world he could finish in top spot depending on Sinner's form when coming back from that knee injury. Two Grand Slam titles have showcased the development made and he is one of the best players in the world at the moment.

There is an argument to put Djokovic in here as well, but the obvious candidates are Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. While not at the peak of their powers, they were still two of the best players in the world in 2020, in second and fifth, respectively.

Federer was the first to call it a day back in 2022 before Nadal followed suit two years later. The latter had more success in the following years, collecting another few Grand Slam titles in Melbourne and of course in Paris, but injuries and age prevented both of them from competing longer, now settled in retirement.

Dominic Thiem had just come off the back of his most cherished tennis memory. He completed a two-set comeback against Zverev at Flushing Meadows to seal a first and only Grand Slam title and finish in a career-high third in the world, hinting down Nadal in second. Thiem would never climb further than position number three, with the Austrian among the names who fell from those dizzying heights thanks to injury problems and retired in 2024.

For different reasons, Stefanos Tsitsipas's and Andrey Rublev's stints among the best have fizzled out. Before, ranked sixth and eighth, they would have another few years of prosperous success, but ultimately not be able to translate that onto the main stage. Especially in Tsitsipas' case, who lost in a brace of Grand Slam finals. Currently found in 44th and 25th, their tennis careers are very much on the slide despite both being 28.

A duo of Wimbledon finalists touted to kick on never really lived up to the hype. Matteo Berrettini (10th) and Milos Raonic (14th) were on different career trajectories at this point, but their health has let them both down. The Canadian now works in finance with Berrettini still soldiering on with some positive results in 2026 showing his class on the court. A similar tale with Grigor Dimitrov. Ranked 19th in the world, the Bulgarian would never reach those pulsating heights and now languishes outside the top 120.

For Gael Monfils (11th) and Stan Wawrinka (18th), in a way marked the beginning of the end. This would be the last year that both finished in the top 20. Wawrinka especially plummeted down the order, but their time among the best had passed. They will both retire this year, watching on as a new dawn for tennis emerges, which is led by Sinner among other players.

The likes of Diego Schwartzman (9), Roberto Bautista Agut (13), David Goffin (15), John Isner (25), Filip Krajinovic (31) and Dan Evans (32) have all retired or, in Goffin's case, will retire. Denis Shapovalov (12), Pablo Carreno Busta (16), Fabio Fognini (17), Cristian Garin (21), Borna Coric (24), Dusan Lajovic (25), Lorenzo Sonego (33), Hubert Hurkacz (34), Adrian Mannarino (35) and Jan-Lennard Struf (36) have dipped down the rankings for whatever reasons, ranging from poor form, injuries, age and players like Sinner overtaking them in terms of quality, marking a new generation.

The ATP rankings have changed significantly with players being replaced. However, a number of brewing talents were waiting for their chance to steal a march on their competitors. In a sense 2020 showcased a real changing of the guard in a way. The likes of Zverev, Tsitsipas and Rublev had established themselves as top 10 threats, but as the years went on, the challengers only grew.

Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alex de Minaur have been top-10 players for a good few years now. The Canadian got his big break in 2022 before sliding down the order. He emerged back to where he currently resides after a great 2025 campaign. A two-time major semi-finalist, de Minaur would wish to have made it that far after all his quarter-final near misses. His top 10 breakthrough came later than Auger-Aliassime, but he has not dropped out at the end of the year since 2024. Two of the main challengers have been kept at bay by Sinner who has romped past both of them.

Taylor Fritz and Casper Ruud have gone better than both the prior-mentioned players, with them having reached Grand Slam finals. Unfortunately for both, their major count still stands at zero. Ruud reached three major finals and finished 2022 as the World No.3. Only two beforehand; he was 27th. Fritz would be dealt his own major misery at the hands of Sinner in 2024 ahead of the Italian also defeating him in the final of the ATP Finals. Another two players were waiting for their chance to shine in the lower ends of the top 32 six years ago, having been overtaken by Sinner in his conquest for greatness. Karen Khachanov and Ugo Humbert may not have secured the same honours as the pre-mentioned names, but they are still very capable tennis players active in the top 40 in the world.

The 2020 end-of-year rankings compared to the 2026 order have some striking differences. In only six years, a reign lasting two years has come to an end with two of the 'Big Three' not among the list, and Djokovic slowly sliding away.

In its place is a new generation of unbelieveably talented tennis players. Zverev and Medvedev, along with Djokovic, resisted the times of change and are still among the top competitors in the world. Not all of them were so lucky, for whatever reason. A new wave of tennis players broke through. Augar-Aliassime, de Minaur, Fritz, Ruud and later on the likes of Ben Shelton, Flavio Cobolli and most notably Alcaraz have stormed up the rankings, cementing their places in the upper echelons of tennis.

However, at the very top of the tree sits Sinner, gazing down on the feeble challengers who try and usurp him. Aside from Alcaraz, whose compelling rivalry has gripped many tennis fans, no one has even come close. Five Grand Slam titles, 10 Masters 1000 triumphs, and two ATP Finals successes, along with 89 weeks as World No.1 and counting.

Nothing in tennis lasts forever. Players could be in the top 10 for a few months or a few decades. Legends come and go, making their mark in the sport, while for some other factors get in the way of them challenging consistently. If all goes well, Sinner will add his name to the greats of the sport, maybe even at the forefront of it. He leads a new generation taking over what was dominated by a past flock of contestants, leading them into the tantalising future where, in six years, the ATP rankings will most likely be completely different again.