Having missed the two Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami last year because of a suspension, Jannik Sinner was always going to have a huge chance to pick up a ton of points throughout the 2026 Sunshine Double.
To say that Sinner made the most of his opportunity would be a gross understatement. The Italian won both tournaments, following up his Indian Wells triumph by beating Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-4 in the Miami final on Sunday evening.
Having added 2,000 points to his haul, Sinner is just 1,190 behind Carlos Alcaraz for the No. 1 ranking. The gap was 3,150 points prior to the start of the Indian Wells Masters.
Sinner and Alcaraz have surprisingly not yet faced each other this season, but their ongoing back-and-forth battle for the top spot never stops. There could be another changing of the guard sooner rather than later since Alcaraz has 4,300 points to defend from now through the French Open. Sinner is defending only 1,950 — including none until the Rome Masters in May.
Alcaraz lost in the Indian Wells semifinals to Daniil Medvedev and in the Miami third round to Sebastian Korda.