Some links in this guide are affiliate links, if you buy through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Here’s our disclosure.
Quick Answer
Alexander Zverev becomes world No 1 on Monday 2 November as the Paris Masters starts in Paris, Novak Djokovic opens against Basel champion Valentin Vacherot in the first round, and four places in the ATP Finals in Turin are still to be decided in the final qualifying event.
How did Zverev become world No 1?
Alexander Zverev woke up on Monday 2 November as the world's best tennis player. The ATP rankings updated to confirm what his victory over Tallon Griekspoor in Vienna last Thursday had set in motion: Zverev passes Jannik Sinner at the top, because Sinner has 500 points dropping off, and Zverev becomes the 30th player in history to reach world No 1, and the first German to do it since Boris Becker in 1991.
Zverev is 29 years and six months old, which makes him the second oldest man to first reach the summit since the rankings launched in 1973, slightly younger than John Newcombe when the Australian climbed to the top in 1974. That stat tells you something about Zverev's career. He has been near the top for a decade, he has won two Grand Slam titles this season, at Roland Garros and the US Open, according to Tennis Majors' Paris preview, and he has done it the hard way, by winning consistently rather than by exploding onto the scene as a teenager.
There is a ceremony to mark the moment. Zverev will receive his ATP No 1 trophy on Centre Court at the end of the day session on Monday, at the Paris Masters, where he is also the top seed and the defending champion from 2024. It is a coronation with a catch, because the draw offered him no honeymoon at all. His first match, on Tuesday or Wednesday, will be against Lorenzo Musetti or Hubert Hurkacz, who play the lead off match on Centre Court on Monday at 11:00 CET. If Zverev wins that, a potential last 16 meeting with 15th seed Learner Tien awaits, before a projected quarterfinal against Novak Djokovic or Alex de Minaur. That is a brutal first week as world No 1, and it is exactly why Paris matters.
What happened in the Vienna and Basel finals?
Carlos Alcaraz won the Vienna Open on Sunday, beating Alex de Minaur 6-1, 6-4 in the final at the Wiener Stadthalle. Alcaraz did not drop a set all week in Vienna, in five matches, and he beat de Minaur for the seventh time in seven meetings. It was his fourth title of the season, after the Australian Open, Doha and Tokyo, and the 28th title of his career. It was also his third ATP 500 title of the year, completing a perfect 16-0 record at ATP 500 events in 2026, and extending his ATP 500 winning streak to 26 matches.
The final was one sided in the scoreline but not in the effort. De Minaur reached deuce in six of his nine service games, according to Reuters reporting, and he battled hard in the second set, saving break points in three of his first four service games, before Alcaraz forced the break he needed in the 10th and final game. De Minaur committed 25 unforced errors and produced only 13 winners, according to Deadspin's roundup, and his 10 match indoor unbeaten streak came to an end. Alcaraz broke serve in the opening game, raced to a double break lead, and closed out the first set 6-1 in 37 minutes.
In Basel, Valentin Vacherot won his first ATP 500 title, rallying from a set down to beat eighth seed Jiri Lehecka 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the Swiss Indoors final. Vacherot, from Monaco, had already beaten Taylor Fritz in the semifinals, and his Basel run followed his Shanghai Masters win in October 2025, which is why his name is familiar even though he was unseeded in Basel. Lehecka had beaten Jan-Lennard Struff, the man who ended Djokovic's week in Basel, in the semifinals, but he could not hold his first set lead in the final.
Both winners now head straight to Paris, which is the brutal part of this week. Vacherot plays Djokovic in the first round on Monday or Tuesday. Lehecka is projected to face Alcaraz in the second round, as Alcaraz's first opponent after his bye, if Lehecka wins his opener. There is no rest week between Basel and Vienna and Paris. The season ends in a sprint, and the sprint starts today.
What is Djokovic's Paris draw?
Novak Djokovic, the seven time Paris champion, has arguably the toughest draw of any leading player in Paris, and he has it without a first round bye. Only the top eight seeds skip the first round, and Djokovic is seeded 10th, so he opens against Vacherot, the player who has just won Basel, on Monday or Tuesday. That is a first round match against a Masters champion in form, not a qualifier, and it is a match Vacherot will play with nothing to lose.
If Djokovic wins that match, his projected path, according to Tennis Majors and Tennis Watcher, is: Luciano Darderi or a qualifier in the second round, then Alex de Minaur or Andrey Rublev in the third round, then Alexander Zverev, the new world No 1, in the quarterfinals. To reach the final, Djokovic would need to beat four seeded opponents, at least one of whom is the reigning world No 1. To win the title, five. That is five matches in seven days, with no rest day built into the schedule for a player who does not receive a bye, and Djokovic is 39 years old and playing his first Paris Masters since 2023.
The contrast with the other half of the draw is stark. Carlos Alcaraz, the second seed, has a more forgiving route to the final, according to Tennis Watcher. Alcaraz opens against Alex Michelsen or Lehecka, and could face Arthur Fils, still nursing a leg problem from his Basel retirement, in the quarterfinals. Zverev and Alcaraz are in opposite halves and can only meet in the final. Ben Shelton, the third seed from the United States, opens against Cameron Norrie or Matteo Arnaldi, and is seeded to face Zverev in the semifinals.
What is at stake in Paris for Turin?
The Paris Masters, which runs from 2 to 8 November at the Plenitude Arena in Nanterre, the venue known until July 2026 as Paris La Defense Arena, is the ninth and last ATP Masters 1000 event of the season, and the 40th edition of the event. It is also the final qualifying event for the ATP Finals in Turin, from 15 to 22 November. Four places in Turin are still to be decided.
Before this week, only four players had secured qualification for Turin: Zverev, Alcaraz, Shelton and Daniil Medvedev. Jannik Sinner is out for the season with a knee injury, so effectively ninth place in the Race to Turin gets in, as the eighth qualifying spot in practice. That is why every match from Monday carries extra weight for the players on the bubble.
Djokovic starts Paris 11th in the Live Race, on 2,890 points, about 319 points behind Rafael Jodar, who holds the ninth and final provisional Turin spot. Jodar, seeded ninth in Paris, opens against Alejandro Tabilo on Monday, in the second match on Centre Court. The maths for Djokovic, from Tennis Watcher's analysis of the Paris draw used in earlier Of The Pitch posts, are unforgiving. A quarterfinal exit in Paris earns 200 points and leaves him short regardless of what Jodar does. A semifinal brings 400 points, lifting him to 3,290 points, and that could be enough only if Jodar loses early. A final is worth 600 points, pushing him to 3,490 points and almost certainly past Jodar, provided de Minaur does not surge past both of them. Winning the title outright, worth 1,000 points, would take Djokovic to 3,890 points.
De Minaur, who lost the Vienna final on Sunday, is also chasing Turin, and he needs a strong Paris run after Vienna to secure his place for a third consecutive year. Jodar needs to hold his position. The players behind them need a miracle run. That is why Paris is not just another Masters event. It is the last chance saloon, and the draw has put the biggest names in the same quarter, so someone's season will end in Paris this week.
When are the key Paris matches this week?
The main draw starts on Monday 2 November, with qualifying already completed over the weekend. The singles final is on Sunday 8 November at 15:00 CET, with the doubles final at 12:30 CET the same day. The Monday Centre Court order, from Tennis TourTalk's preview, is below, with conversions for the main markets. Paris is on CET in November, one hour ahead of London GMT, six hours ahead of New York Eastern Standard Time, and four hours behind Karachi PKT.
| Monday Centre Court match | CET | London GMT | New York EST | Karachi PKT | | Lorenzo Musetti v Hubert Hurkacz | 11:00 | 10:00 | 05:00 | 15:00 | | Rafael Jodar (9) v Alejandro Tabilo | After first match | After first match | Morning | Afternoon | | Casper Ruud v Juan Manuel Cerundolo, qualifier | After second match | After second match | Afternoon | Evening | | Denis Shapovalov v Karen Khachanov, not before | 19:00 | 18:00 | 13:00 | 23:00 | | Ugo Humbert v Botic van de Zandschulp, not before | 20:30 | 19:30 | 14:30 | 00:30 Tuesday |
Zverev's first match, against Musetti or Hurkacz, comes on Tuesday or Wednesday. Djokovic's first match, against Vacherot, comes on Monday or Tuesday, with Tennis TourTalk listing it for Tuesday. Alcaraz's first match, after his bye, comes later in the week. The tournament will mark Zverev's rise to No 1 with a ceremony on Monday evening, which is a fitting way to start a week where the new world No 1, the greatest player of all time chasing Turin, and the Vienna champion all share the same draw.
For fans, the advice is simple. Watch Musetti against Hurkacz on Monday morning, because the winner plays the world No 1 next. Watch Djokovic against Vacherot, because the loser of that match may see their season end, or their momentum stall, in round one. And watch the Turin race after every round, because four places are still open, and Paris is the last event that can fill them.
Related live posts: Vienna and Basel Finals Today: Alcaraz v de Minaur, Lehecka v Vacherot, and Djokovic Paris Draw Explained, and Zverev Clinches World No 1 and Djokovic Loses in Basel: Friday Quarterfinals in Vienna and Basel.
Sources: Tennis Watcher, Zverev Reaches World No 1, Faces Brutal Paris Draw, 2 November 2026, and Zverev, Djokovic Meet in Paris Masters Draw, 1 November 2026; LiveTennis, Paris Masters 2026 Preview: Dates, Draw and Contenders, 1 November 2026; Tennis Majors, Rolex Paris Masters 2026: draw, seeds, schedule and how to watch, 31 October 2026, and Djokovic draws Vacherot in Paris Masters opener, 31 October 2026; Tennis TourTalk, Paris Masters Lights Up 40th Edition With An Eye On Turin, Too, 2 November 2026; Deadspin, ATP Roundup: Alcaraz, Vacherot win titles in Vienna, Basel, 1 November 2026; The Hindu, Alcaraz beats De Minaur to win Vienna Open without dropping a set, 2 November 2026; Gulf Times, Alcaraz beats De Minaur to win Vienna title, 1 November 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the new world No 1 in tennis?
Alexander Zverev, who becomes world No 1 on Monday 2 November, the 30th player in history to top the ATP rankings and the first German since Boris Becker in 1991.
Who does Novak Djokovic play first in Paris?
Valentin Vacherot, the Basel champion, in the first round on Monday or Tuesday, with no bye because Djokovic is seeded 10th and only the top eight skip the first round.
Who won the Vienna and Basel finals on Sunday?
Carlos Alcaraz beat Alex de Minaur 6-1, 6-4 in Vienna, and Valentin Vacherot beat Jiri Lehecka 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 in Basel, for his first ATP 500 title.
How many Turin places are still open in Paris?
Four places in the ATP Finals in Turin, from 15 to 22 November, are still to be decided, with Zverev, Alcaraz, Shelton and Medvedev already qualified and Sinner out for the season.
What does Djokovic need in Paris to reach Turin?
At least a semifinal, worth 400 points, which would lift him to 3,290 points and could be enough only if Rafael Jodar, who holds the last provisional spot, loses early.
When is the Paris Masters final?
Sunday 8 November at 15:00 CET, with the doubles final at 12:30 CET the same day, at the Plenitude Arena in Nanterre.
