World No.1 Jannik Sinner has sent a message to rival Carlos Alcaraz after both players made the surprise decision to practice together before the ATP Finals. Sinner reclaimed top spot in the men’s rankings after beating Felix Auger-Aliassime in the Paris Masters final last weekend.

The Italian will lose his top-ranked position to Alcaraz when his 1500 ATP finals points come off, having won last year’s event in Turin. However, the 24-year-old can win it back from the Spaniard again in Italy if a series of results between the two players play out.

Should Sinner emerge as an undefeated champion for the second consecutive year at the season-ending Championships, Alcaraz would need to pick up 450 points at the ATP Finals to end the year as No.1. In that scenario, Alcaraz would need to reach the final with at least one group stage win or go undefeated in group stage play.

Sinner finds himself in the Bjorn Borg group, alongside Alexander Zverev, Ben Shelton and either Lorenzo Musetti or Auger-Aliassime. As it stands, the Canadian has qualified but, should Musetti clinch the title in Athens this weekend, he’ll take the spot instead.

Alcaraz, meanwhile, has been drawn in the Jimmy Connors group alongside Novak Djokovic, who is still yet to confirm his participation, Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur. And both Sinner and Alcaraz practised on Friday in Turin before the tournament gets underway on Sunday.

“Gracias Carlos, great practice,” Sinner said alongside a post featuring a picture of the two players on his social media platforms.

Asked for his reaction to returning to world No.1 post Paris, Sinner said: “Well, it’s not only in my hands, but I’m of course happy.

“I knew from the beginning of the week that there is this chance. But as I said, you know, before the final, before every tournament or before every match, I try to put the best performance I can on the court, and then whatever comes, comes.

“And this is how I went on court. In Turin, I’m going to do the same. I watch my side, and I just play the best possible tennis I can, and if it’s not gonna be, it’s not gonna be.

“The goal of this week was to go day by day, trying to maximise my potential, which I have done for this week, and I’m extremely happy. As I said, now we recharge and hopefully be as ready as possible then for Turin, and we hope for a great tennis week there.”

Alcaraz’s season won’t end in Turin as he will feature in the Davis Cup finals after the ATP Finals end on November 16. Sinner, however, has opted to miss the event as Italy go in search of a third consecutive title.