ATP Race Update: Ben Shelton leaps to No. 4 as Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner remain on top

After the Canadian Open final in Toronto, the American hardcourt swing continues with the start of the Cincinnati Open this week, and the ATP Race to Turin has seen some movements after the 7th Masters 1000 of the season. The champion of the week was Ben Shelton, who won his first Masters title, taking his position as 4th in the Race.

The ATP Race—unlike the ATP Ranking—only measures the points earned in the calendar year, from the first week of 2025. It will be what determines the eight qualifiers for the ATP Finals in Turin at the end of the year and will determine the ranking with which the players on the Tour will end the year.

While Shelton reaches 4th place, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Alexander Zverev remain unmoved on the podium. The Spaniard leads thanks to five titles so far this season, including the French Open two months ago, which makes him the only player to have mathematically qualified for the ATP Finals in Turin.

A little further back is Jannik Sinner, who remains in second place with two titles, both in Grand Slam tournaments (Australian Open, Wimbledon). Alexander Zverev (3,640) stays in third place, closing out the podium just as he has done all year, though he is getting closer to losing his position, with a Shelton who could this very week in Cincinnati enter the podium if he does better than his German colleague.

Ben Shelton's Masters title launches him to No. 4

The Canadian Open was marked by the absence of four players from the top 6: not only did Alcaraz and Sinner decide to skip the tournament, but Novak Djokovic and Jack Draper—two others who have been in the top part of the Race—also withdrew from the tournament. It was perhaps the biggest opportunity for other names to make a statement in a Masters tournament so far this season, and Shelton was the one who took the opportunity to win the most important title of his career and add 1,000 points.

In the semifinals were two other of the year's best: the German Zverev (3,640; third place) and the 27-year-old American Taylor Fritz (2,975; 6th)—who was defeated precisely by Shelton. After their good campaigns, they corroborated their place in the top tier, where Novak Djokovic (3,380; 5th) and Jack Draper (2,940; 7th) also remain—two who were absent in Canada and will not be in Cincinnati this week either.

The battle for the final qualifying spots

The 8th qualifying position for now is occupied by Alex de Minaur (2,745), who is closely following Draper and has the chance to overtake him in Cincinnati. The Australian reached the quarterfinals in Toronto, which gave him a good boost of points to stay in the qualifying zone as one of the most consistent players of the year. A little further back is the Italian Lorenzo Musetti (2,670), who was displaced after being absent from the Canadian Open and after a recent month where injuries have prevented him from performing as he had been doing in the clay-swing, where he reached the final of Monte-Carlo and the semifinals of Madrid, Rome, and Roland Garros.

Someone who made a significant advance was the tournament finalist Karen Khachanov (2,070), who moved up positions to 11th place, giving him serious claims to fight for a spot in the top 10 in the coming months. The Russian had his best week in a long time, eliminating rivals like Casper Ruud and Zverev, but he couldn't crown a great week with a new title. Getting closer to the top 10 is nevertheless a very notable prize for the 29-year-old player.

It is precisely Casper Ruud (2,235) who remains in the 10th spot, thanks in large part to his first Masters 1000 title won at the Madrid Open at the end of April. The Norwegian is another who has been injured in recent weeks, but he maintains a good chance of ending the year within the top 10. Still more than 500 points behind de Minaur (8th), Ruud will need good campaigns in the next tournaments if he wants to play in the ATP Finals again, just as he did in three of the last four seasons.