Carlos Alcaraz Temporarily Climbs to World No. 2 in ATP Rankings Despite Delaying Tennis Comeback

Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz may have had a few disappointing days on the court since he decided to delay his return at this month’s Cincinnati Masters but still he has been handed a boost in the ATP rankings after Alexander Zverev’s loss in Canada.

The 2026 French Open Championship winner and the finalist at the Wimbledon, Zverev was the firm favourite to win the ATP Masters 1000 title in Montreal, Canada with the world number one player, Jannik Sinner, the veteran from Serbia, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaras were among the big names to be absent from the tournament.

Yet the German slipped to a shocking defeat in his opening round match against Tallon Griekspoor. The Dutchman defeated Zverev 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-4 to secure an impressive win. Speaking about his incredible performance, Griekspoor said, “This is one of the most special wins I have had. I have had a very tough season, which is not easy. I have been very close to throwing the towel a couple of times. But I have been working harder and harder lately and reached quite a good level in training in the past couple of weeks.”

For the big-serving Griekspoor, it was his third win in the last 12 matches against Zverev. With the latest loss, the German player will move down to the third place in the ATP ranking. However, Zverev is certain to be at No.2 in the ranking by the time of the final Grand Slam of the year begins as there are doubts if Alcaraz will be fit to defend his title in New York after he was forced to pull out from Cincinnati Masters where he had planned to make a comeback.

Although the Spaniard has made progress in his recovery from the wrist injury that he sustained at the Barcelona Open in April, his decision to step away from returning to action next week is a clear indication that he needs more time to recover fully. His ranking will further collapse if he fails to make an appearance at the US open, as the 2,000 points he won after defeating Sinner in the last year’s final will fall off his records and he may potentially drop out of the top four of the ATP rankings.