By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday November 15, 2022
19-year-old Alcaraz becomes the youngest year-end No.1 in ATP history.
Photo Source: Getty
Two months after becoming the first teenager to reach No.1 in the ATP rankings, Carlos Alcaraz has become the youngest player to ever lock down the ATP’s year-end No.1 ranking.
Though he is not playing this week at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, Alcaraz locked down the feat when Casper Ruud won the first set from Taylor Fritz in round robin play on Tuesday evening in Turin. With that set, Nadal’s chances of reaching the semifinals evaporated.
Nadal, who needed to win the title or reach the final with only one loss, was one of two players in Turin with a small chance of overtaking Alcaraz in the rankings. Stefanos Tsitsipas, who lost his first match to Novak Dkokovic on Monday in Turin, needed to run the table and win the title in Turin to get to No.1.
So it is Alcaraz, who won the US Open title in September and finished his campaign with a record of 57-13 and five titles, will not turn 20 until next May. The Spaniard missed the ATP Finals due to an abdominal injury.
He is the 18th player to ever hold the ATP’s No.1 ranking, and he is more than a full year younger than the previous youngest year-end No.1, Lleyton Hewitt, was in 2001.
Year-end No.1 rankings, Number of times:
Novak Djokovic, 7
Pete Sampras, 6
Jimmy Connors, 6
Rafael Nadal, 5
Roger Federer, 5
John McEnroe, 4
Ivan Lendl, 4
Bjorn Borg, 2
Stefan Edberg, 2
Lleyton Hewitt, 2
Ilie Nastase
Mats Wilander
Jim Courier
Andre Agassi
Gustavo Kuerten
Andy Roddick
Andy Murray
Carlos Alcaraz