If you thought a moment of pause was around the corner, given Jannik Sinner had just bagged two titles back-to-back, then you’d be wrong. Closing out the hard-court season with a 6–4, 6–4 victory over Jiří Lehečka at the Miami Open, he became just the eighth man to complete the ‘Sunshine Double.’ The last player to achieve the rare feat was Roger Federer back in 2017. And once again, it’s go time for the Italian as Monte Carlo awaits.

With the clay-court season commencing on April 5, the 24-year-old remarked that although he wants to be back on court as soon as possible, he will have to consider his body’s condition first.

“I’m gonna jump on the plane tomorrow, and I’m gonna be in Monaco around lunch time on Tuesday. We’re aiming to go back on court on Thursday, slowly, but the body is gonna hurt a bit. Then we’ll see how I’m gonna feel,” Sinner said. “Usually, I am aiming to play on Tuesday because if you win, then you have a day of recovery, which helps on a new surface. But I also need to see how I feel. The body is our everything, so I want to protect it.”

After sweeping the titles at Indian Wells and Miami, Jannik Sinner will be the favorite to win in Monte Carlo as well. Having missed the tournament last year due to a suspension, the World No. 2 will be eager to make a strong return. It is one of the tournaments he has yet to win, and he will be aiming to end that wait this time around.

Having suffered semifinal and quarterfinal exits at the Australian and Qatar Opens, respectively, Sinner picked up his form in the Sunshine Double. He first captured his maiden Indian Wells title by defeating Daniil Medvedev 7-6, 7-6 in the final before continuing his dominance in Miami.

Notably, Sinner didn’t drop a single set in either of the tournaments and completely outclassed his opponents on most occasions. He even extended his record of not dropping a set in his last three Masters 1000 tournaments (Paris, Indian Wells, and Miami) to 34 consecutive sets.

These superb performances have seen Sinner come within touching distance of regaining the top spot on the ATP rankings. While there may still be a decent gap between him and Carlos Alcaraz when it comes to ranking points, that difference is not going to hold for long if the Italian continues his form in the coming tournaments.

Jannik Sinner threatens Carlos Alcaraz’s No. 1 spot in the rankings

Though neither Sinner nor Alcaraz has had a match in 2026 as of yet, their rivalry just keeps on intensifying. After his triumphs in Australia and Qatar, it looked as if the Spaniard would continue to rule the rankings for the majority of the year. However, his semifinal and Round of 32 exits at the Indian Wells and Miami Open, respectively, gave Sinner a chance to get back into contention.

Alcaraz currently leads the ATP rankings with 13,590 points under his belt, while Sinner sits second with 12,400 points. Now, with the Monte Carlo Masters set to begin soon, the battle for supremacy at the top is set to reignite.

Having won in Monaco last year, Alcaraz is set to drop 1,000 points at the start of the tournament. This will see Sinner get even closer to surpassing his tally and become World No. 1 once again. The equation is simple: Alcaraz will have to perform better than Sinner to preserve his spot at the top.

For context, if Sinner reaches the quarterfinal and Alcaraz bows out in the Round of 16, then the Italian will take over. With the margin of error being incredibly small, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

Will Alcaraz be able to maintain the No. 1 spot, or will Sinner take over the rankings for the second time in his career? Let us know your predictions in the comments!