Carlos Alcaraz woke up on Monday calling Paris probably his best week since returning from injury, and naming it the launchpad for a first ATP Finals title. Speaking to reporters after the final, in the Reuters report of his press conference, the world No. 3 said the Paris Masters victory was the ideal platform for Turin and that he had played his best tennis since coming back in August. The full Carlos Alcaraz ATP Finals question, whether he now goes in as favourite, got a longer answer, and it is below.
Yesterday at the Plenitude Arena in Nanterre, Alcaraz beat Ben Shelton 7-6 (5), 7-5 to win the Rolex Paris Masters for the first time, his ninth Masters 1000 title, his fifth title of 2026 and the 29th of his career. The full story of the final itself is in iimiTV’s breaking report on Alcaraz beating Shelton to win the Paris title.
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FINAL: Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (5), 7-5 Ben Shelton
Tennis TV’s official highlights of the final carry the tie-break turn and the backhand that finished it:
How to watch: Nitto ATP Finals, Sunday, November 15 to Sunday, November 22, 2026, at Inalpi Arena, Turin
TV (Canada): TSN
Stream: TSN, Tennis TV
Alcaraz Leaves The Favourite Tag To Others
Asked directly whether he feels he is the favourite to win the ATP Finals for the first time, Alcaraz refused the label in his full post-final press conference, published by Tennis365: “If I’m the favourite or not or I feel the favourite or not, to be honest, it is not in my hand. Just going there, play my tennis, trying to enjoy, and try to play good tennis. So I’m going to leave it to the people if they see me as a favourite or not.”
What he did claim was the week itself. “Probably my best week. In terms of tennis, I can match it with Vienna. But I would say this one, this week, I make one step forward mentally,” he said, pointing to the tough moments he controlled in match after match, including the two match points saved against Taylor Fritz on Friday. On the Finals themselves, he told reporters in the Reuters account: “This is a tournament that I really want to win one day. I’m going to go this year with a lot of confidence, with a lot of information in my bag, on the things that I really want to improve. I’m going to go for it, for sure.”
There was one more thread to close from the trophy ceremony. Shelton starts working with Juan Carlos Ferrero, Alcaraz’s former coach, in 2027, and Alcaraz joked in his speech that he is “gonna be afraid a little bit” of Shelton now. Shelton had told him before the news dropped, and Alcaraz replied right after winning Vienna that he was happy for him and sure his game would improve under Ferrero. Ferrero will not be in Shelton’s box in Turin; the partnership starts in the off-season.
Shelton Names The Serve, And The Small Window
Shelton’s own verdict, given in his press conference, was precise about what failed. “One of them was placement of my first serve. I wasn’t accurate,” Shelton said in the TennisHead report of the press conference. “Obviously with Carlos’ speed, you feel the pressure of losing the advantage that you have after your serve. He moves so well, anticipates well, and has great passing shots. I have to be a lot more precise with my first serve to be effective.” The numbers back him: Shelton hit 12 aces to six, but won only 63 per cent of his first-serve points against Alcaraz’s 71 per cent.
Ben Shelton, pictured at Basel in 2025, put the Paris final down to first-serve placement and the chances that got away. Photo: Skyscraper2010, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The regret was just as specific: 0-40 on the Alcaraz serve in the first set, 15-40 after that, and a break lead at 4-2 in the second, none of it converted. “When you’re playing against the best in the world, the window is small. If you miss your chance, it’s likely that another isn’t going to come,” he said. The respect, though, survived all of it. Shelton posted his verdict on Instagram on Sunday night, and Alcaraz answered in the comments:
Ben Shelton on Instagram: “Didn’t go my way today, but these are the type of match ups that I live for. Congrats beast @carlitosalcarazz. Back to work tomorrow. Keep going.”
Alcaraz replied “You’re incredible man” under the post, and Jakub Mensik added “U are the Champ Ben!” The two finalists could meet again in Turin as early as the group stage.
Monday Rankings Close The Gap At The Top
The rankings published on Monday, November 9 settled the arithmetic of the win. Alcaraz added the full 1,000 points to reach 7,100, moving within 2,350 points of second-placed Jannik Sinner on 9,450 and 2,450 of world No. 1 Alexander Zverev on 9,550, per the Tennis365 report of the official list. The gain was that large partly because Alcaraz lost his opening match in Paris a year ago and defended almost nothing. Shelton holds world No. 4 on 5,170 points and now leads fifth-ranked Daniil Medvedev by 1,350, while Novak Djokovic drops to No. 12 on 2,940 points.
Turin Opens Without The Defending Champion
The field Alcaraz walks into on Sunday is settled, and it is missing the man who beat him in last year’s final. Two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner announced in October that his season was over with a knee injury, and Djokovic failed to qualify, finishing 12th in the Race, per TNT Sports’ field guide published Monday. The eight in Turin are Zverev, Alcaraz, Shelton, Medvedev, Flavio Cobolli, Arthur Fils, Frances Tiafoe and Rafael Jodar, four of them debutants. The draw is on Thursday, November 12, splitting them into the John McEnroe Group and the Ivan Lendl Group, with top seeds Zverev and Alcaraz kept apart.
Jodar took the last place on 3,234 points, 64 ahead of Alex de Minaur, the first man out, and de Minaur and Taylor Fritz still travel to Turin as the alternates, per the ATP media notes reported by Tennis Majors. Alcaraz finished runner-up in Turin in 2025, losing the final to Sinner; with Sinner absent, a new champion is guaranteed. After Turin, Alcaraz’s season closes at the Davis Cup finals later this month.
That is the honest shape of the day after Paris: nine straight wins, two straight titles, the best indoor week of his comeback by his own measure, and a player refusing the favourite tag for the one big trophy he has never won, in a field where the champion who stopped him last year will not be there. Turin starts on Sunday.
