Alcaraz & Nadal Make History As World's Top Two Players
Spanish history was made on Monday when this week’s Pepperstone ATP Rankings were released.
With Carlos Alcaraz already at World No. 1, Rafael Nadal climbed past Casper Ruud to World No. 2, making this the first week the top two players are from the same country since 7 August 2000 when Americans Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras were Nos. 1 and 2, respectively.
“It means a lot to be part of the Spanish history,” Alcaraz said ahead of his first-round match at the Astana Open. “For me, to have two players at the top is crazy.”
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It is the first time a country other than the United States has had the top two players in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
Alcaraz became the youngest World No. 1 in the history of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings (since 1973) when he won his first Grand Slam title at the US Open. His debut in Astana will be his first ATP Tour event atop men’s tennis’ mountain.
Nadal is back in the top two for the first time since the week of 3 May 2021. He was ranked as low as World No. 6 this January.
Alcaraz and Nadal are also the top two players in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, putting them in position to battle for year-end World No. 1. Both men have already qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals, as have Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas.