“There's a glitch in the system": Former Federer coach criticises ATP ranking as Zverev finishes above Alcaraz

Paul Annacone, former coach of Roger Federer, has raised doubts about the ATP ranking system after Alexander Zverev finished the season ranked above Carlos Alcaraz. With the year-end rankings confirmed, Jannik Sinner leads as World No. 1, followed by Zverev (No. 2) and Alcaraz (No. 3).

Annacone expressed surprise that the Spaniard, despite winning two Grand Slam titles at the French Open and Wimbledon, ended the season behind Zverev.

Sinner had an extraordinary season, claiming eight titles and achieving a remarkable 73-6 record, including his recent victories en route to securing Italy’s Davis Cup title. The Italian ended the year with 11,830 points, significantly ahead of Zverev (7,915) and Alcaraz (7,010).

Annacone, currently coaching World No. 4 Taylor Fritz, commented during a recent episode of The Tennis Channel Inside-In podcast that while Zverev had a stellar year, it is difficult to understand how he outranks Alcaraz, given the 21-year-old’s Grand Slam achievements.

"In my opinion, Sasha Zverev's had an amazing year," Annacone said. "The points don't lie. He played an unbelievable amount of tennis, but if you win two majors and you're not ranked No. 2 in the world, that to me says that there's a glitch in the system."

Zverev captured two titles this season, the Masters 1000 Rome Open and the Paris Masters, closing the year with a 69-21 record. He also reached the finals in Hamburg and Roland Garros and made semifinals at the Australian Open, Miami, Cincinnati, Halle Open, and Los Cabos.

Meanwhile, Alcaraz secured four titles, including Roland Garros, Wimbledon, the Masters 1000 Indian Wells, and the ATP 500 Beijing Open, finishing with a 54-13 record. His other top results included a semifinal appearance at the ATP 250 Buenos Aires Open.