Daniil Medvedev has replaced Novak Djokovic as men’s world No. 1 on Monday, just two weeks before this year’s Wimbledon Championships where he is barred due to his Russian nationality.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) banned Russian and Belarusian players from competition following the invasion of Ukraine, leading the ATP and WTA tours to controversially remove ranking points from the grass court major, which begins on June 27.
Medvedev, who is reigning US Open champion, made history in February when he became the first player other than Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Andy Murray and Djokovic to hold the No. 1 spot in 18 years, although Djokovic soon regained his top ranking.
The 26-year-old was stunned in the final of the Libema Open by Dutch wild card Tim Van Rijthoven, who capped a dream run to the final on Sunday despite having never won a main-draw match at an ATP Tour event prior to last week’s event.
Meanwhile, Djokovic will drop to world No. 3, with Alexander Zverev taking the No. 2 spot.
Djokovic did not play the Australian Open in January due to being unvaccinated against the coronavirus, and he has struggled to emulate the prolific form he showed when he came within one match of winning all four Grand Slams last year.