For the first time since 2003, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic & Rafael Nadal missing from top 2 of rankings

Consequently, it means that this week is the first since November 10, 2003, that none of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, or Novak Djokovic have occupied one of the two top spots of the men’s tennis rankings.

After earning just 360 points from the French Open following his quarterfinal exit, Djokovic has slipped from World No. 1 to the 3rd spot, dropping 2,000 ranking points from last year’s triumph.

Nadal, on the other hand, moved up only one spot to World No. 4 after winning a record-extending 14th Roland Garros and 22nd Grand Slam title last week. He dropped 1,000 points that were still on his tally from his 2020 French Open triumph.

1. Medvedev
2. Zverev
3. Djokovic 😳

For the 1st time since november 2003, there’s no Big 3 player on ATP ranking’s 2 first spots. pic.twitter.com/ZennHIZzyV

— We Are Tennis (@WeAreTennis) June 13, 2022

Pandemic continues to disrupt men’s rankings

Traditionally, tennis rankings work on a simple 52-week rollover system. Each weekly list represents points won by a player over the past year; rankings points are awarded for one event, and the previous years’ points are simultaneously stripped from a player’s total. These rankings decide seeds for all tournaments, and allow automatic entry to events for the top players.

The pandemic made things more complicated though. Between March and August 2020, the rankings were frozen since no competitive events were taking place. Later that year, in order to offer stability to the players, both the ATP and WTA announced that they will operate on a ‘Best-Of’ system until March 2021, allowing players to keep points from either the latest event, or the previously held event, whichever was higher.

For an event that did not take place in 2020 at all, the 2019 points remained on a player’s tally till 2021.

Although the WTA moved back to the original format by March last year, the ATP decided to keep the ‘Best-Of’ system in place until August. This meant that points for events that were held in 2019 but not in 2020 remained on a player’s tally till 2021, but only at half the value.

So, for tournaments between March and August, if 50% of a player’s points at the previously held event (2019 or rescheduled in 2020) was higher than what he earned in 2021, he would get to keep those points in his total till 2022.

For example, Nadal earned 2000 points for winning the 2020 French Open, but got to keep 1000 points against his total up until this week as it was higher than the 720 he earned by reaching the semifinal in 2021, giving him a 280-point advantage.

This system has had big gainers and losers. Federer was a big gainer. The Swiss was able to keep his place in the top 10 of the rankings until October 2021, and he is still ranked 68th despite having barely played over the past few years, mainly by keeping 50% of the points he earned between March and August 2019. Zverev, who was unable to leapfrog Federer until March 2021, was a big loser.

Federer & Serena to drop out of the rankings

Despite being one of the biggest gainers of the pandemic-disrupted ranking system, Federer is set to drop out of the rankings altogether by July. The Swiss still has 850 points to his name – 50% of his total by winning in Halle and reaching the final at Wimbledon in 2019.

Although he has confirmed his plan to return to the tour, he will not be returning in time to defend those points, dropping his total to zero and falling out of the rankings for the very first time.

Since the WTA did not continue the ‘Best-Of’ system till August, Serena Williams has not enjoyed the same ranking privileges as Federer. The American now has only 10 points to her name from her first-round exit at SW19 last year, and having not played a competitive match since, she will drop those next month.

🎵Don’t call it a comeback! 🏅 We can’t wait to see more of the Swiss tennis champion @rogerfederer on the court soon. 🇨🇭🎾 https://t.co/ytFSXWxLBs

— Embassy of Switzerland in the USA (@SwissEmbassyUSA) June 13, 2022

Djokovic could slump to No. 8 next month

After winning three consecutive Majors last year, Djokovic had to defend 6,000 ranking points at the same events in 2022. After being deported from Melbourne due to his unvaccinated status, and with the ATP and WTA stripping Wimbledon of ranking points the Serb has automatically dropped 4,000 and defended only 360 at Roland Garros this year.

After confirming he will not be playing any tournaments in the lead-up to SW19, he is set to take a major hit in the rankings following the conclusion of the grass Major next month. The 35-year old will fall to 4,770 ranking points, which would mean that he could fall as low as World No. 8 next month.

Men’s rankings, top 5 – June 13, 2022

1. Daniil Medvedev – 7.950 points

2. Alexander Zverev – 7,075 points

3. Novak Djokovic – 6,770 points

4. Rafael Nadal – 6,525 points

5. Casper Ruud – 5,050 points