As we step into March, all eyes are on the upcoming Masters 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami. However, a lingering question that tennis enthusiasts are curious about is how many points the ATP stars will be defending in the coming month.
Let’s take a trip back to February, where the ATP Tour made its rounds across Europe, North America, South America, and the Middle East, hosting a series of ATP 500 and 250 level tournaments. The final matches in Acapulco, Dubai, and Santiago are expected to conclude as we usher in March. After that, the spotlight will be cast on the ‘Sunshine Double’ events, being the only ATP tournaments taking place in March. The Indian Wells Open is slated for March 5-16, while the Miami Open is set to follow from March 19-30.
The points that the players on the men’s tour will be defending in March come from the 2024 renditions of Acapulco, Dubai, Santiago, Indian Wells, and Miami tournaments, excluding the Challenger Tour events.
The current ATP Rankings Top 10 (as of February 24) are as follows:
1. Jannik Sinner, Italy – 11,330
2. Alexander Zverev, Germany – 8,135
3. Carlos Alcaraz, Spain – 7,510
4. Taylor Fritz, United States – 4,900
5. Casper Ruud, Norway – 4,325
6. Daniil Medvedev – 4,030
7. Novak Djokovic, Serbia – 3,900
8. Alex de Minaur, Australia – 3,785
9. Andrey Rublev – 3,670
10. Tommy Paul, United States – 3,280
Current world No.1, Jannik Sinner, is on the sidelines due to a doping ban that began on February 9 and ends on May 4. The Italian player will forfeit the 1,000 points he earned from his win at the Miami Open in 2024, coupled with the 400 points he was stripped of for reaching the semi-finals in Indian Wells last year, following a positive test for a banned substance during the tournament.
Alexander Zverev, ranked second globally, is braced for a 600 point drop after reaching the semi-finals in Miami and quarter-finals in Indian Wells in 2024. Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz, who ranks third, will be defending a whopping 1,200 points in March as the reigning Indian Wells champion and a quarter-finalist in Miami the previous year.
Taylor Fritz, the highest-ranked American player and world No. 4, is set to defend only 110 points next month following a lackluster 2024 ‘Sunshine Double’.
Other notable rankings include Casper Ruud, who will drop 630 points, including 330 from his runner-up result at last year’s Mexican Open. Daniil Medvedev will be defending more points than anyone else, having accrued a staggering 1,250 points from reaching the Indian Wells final and the semi-finals in both Miami and Dubai last year.
The 7th ranked ATP player, Novak Djokovic, will drop a mere 50 points, having only participated in the Indian Wells tournament in March 2024, where he was eliminated in the third round.
Other key players and their point drops in March are:
– Alex de Minaur, Australia – 700 (500 of which are from his Acapulco title win last year)
– Andrey Rublev – 250
– Tommy Paul, United States – 410
– Stefanos Tsitsipas – 110
– Holger Rune, Denmark – 210
– Grigor Dimitrov, Bulgaria – 750
Grigor Dimitrov, who has faced a challenging start to the season due to injuries, will be defending a significant 750 points from his runner-up performance in Miami and last 16 effort in Indian Wells.
As we gear up for the Miami Open 2025, the star-studded lineup featuring Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, and Alexander Zverev continues to generate buzz. The question on everyone’s mind, however, is whether Nick Kyrgios will participate in the tournament. All eyes will be on the upcoming matches, and the results will undoubtedly reshape the ATP rankings.
