The shock US Open first-round exit saw Novak Djokovic drop to 12th in the latest ATP Rankings.

Updated on: Sep 15, 2026, 10:05:58 IST

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Newly-crowned US Open champion Alexander Zverev not only consolidated his position as the world No. 2 in the latest ATP Rankings released on Monday following the end of the 2026 Grand Slam season, but also reduced the gap to leader Jannik Sinner to 1,810 points. He has also nearly doubled his points tally over third-placed Carlos Alcaraz.

However, Novak Djokovic suffered an eight-year low after crashing out of the US Open in the opening round. The 39-year-old suffered a shock 7-6(5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 defeat to Argentina's Mariano Navone two weeks ago in a match that lasted four hours and 36 minutes. It marked his earliest exit from a Grand Slam since he suffered a first-round defeat at the Australian Open in 2006.

The shock result saw Djokovic drop to 12th in the latest ATP Rankings. It is the first time he has exited the top 10 since 2018.

The Serb made his top-10 debut in 2007, but 10 years later, after an elbow issue forced him to retire during his Wimbledon quarterfinal, he dropped out of the top 10 in November 2017. He returned to the top 10 a year later following his Wimbledon triumph.

This also means that, for the first time since October 2002, none of the Big Three — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic — will be part of the ATP top 10. During their years of dominance, they won 66 Grand Slam titles among themselves — 24 for Djokovic, 22 for Nadal and 20 for Federer — while at least one of them remained inside the top 10. That streak lasted 8,736 consecutive days — 23 years and 11 months, practically a quarter of a century.

Federer was the first of the three to retire from professional tennis, saying goodbye to the sport in 2022 after his final appearance at the Laver Cup that year. Nadal played for two more years before making his final appearance at the 2024 Davis Cup. Djokovic remains an active player and, despite his body taking a toll on him in recent months, intends to play until the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

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