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ATP Rankings: How rule change will affect seedings at 2026 Australian Open

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Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz’s rankings battle at the ATP Finals is not only crucial in terms of the year-end No 1 spot, but it will also decide who is the top seed at next year’s Australian Open.

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With Alcaraz losing early at the Paris Masters, Sinner reclaimed top spot in the ATP Rankings with a title run at the ATP 1000 event in the French capital as he returned to No 1, having lost this position to the Spaniard after the US Open.

The Italian leads his rival by only 250 points [Sinner is on 11,500 points compared to Alcaraz’s 11,250], but his stay at the top will be brief as they will swap places again when the rankings are updated this coming Monday as points from the 2024 ATP Finals will be removed.

But their final positions will be determined after this year’s season-ending tournament in Turin with Alcaraz the favourite to finish the year at No 1 and it will be crucial as it will also confirm who will be the top seed at the 2026 Australian Open.

Following a rule change, entries for the 2026 Australia swing – including the season-opening Grand Slam – will be based on the year-end ATP Rankings, with the final update taking place on November 17, the day after the ATP Finals conclude.

In the past, the entries for the Australian Open were only determined one week before the start of the tournament. For example, this year’s Melbourne event started on January 13 and seedings were based on the rankings of January 6.

The thinking behind the tweak is that it will stop players from battling for ranking points at lower-tier events during December and early January to secure a last-minute entry into the hard-court major.

The change will not only have an impact on the official main draw and qualifying lists for the Australian Open, but also the seedings with this week’s Moselle Open and Hellenic Championships and next week’s ATP Finals the final ATP Tour events.

The points players earn on the ATP Challenger Tour and ITF Men’s World Tennis Tour before the cutoff date of November 17 will also count and give those lower down the rankings a chance to qualify.

But of course, it will also determine the top 32 seeds.

As things stand in the Live Rankings, Alcaraz has already regained top spot from Sinner, 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic is up to No 4 as he is in action at the Hellenic Championships, while Jack Draper has been confirmed as the year-end No 1 despite missing the final few months of the season due to injury.

1. Carlos Alcaraz
2. Jannik Sinner
3. Alexander Zverev
4. Novak Djokovic
5. Ben Shelton
6. Taylor Fritz
7. Alex de Minaur
8. Felix Auger-Aliassime
9. Lorenzo Musetti
10. Jack Draper

Djokovic and Musetti are still in action in Athens this week while the top eight players will also feature at next week’s ATP Finals, so there could still be a few changes to the top 10.

In terms of the remaining players currently among the top 32, only Cameron Norrie is still in action as he has reached the quarter-final in Metz and a title run could see him rise to No 24.

Meanwhile, Valentin Vacherot – who was outside the top 100 just over a month ago – is set to be seeded at a Grand Slam for the first time in his career as he is at No 29 following his Shanghai Masters title run.

Rest Of The Seeds:

11. Alexander Bulbik
12. Casper Ruud
13. Daniil Medvedev
14. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
15. Holger Rune
16. Andrey Rublev
17. Jiri Lehecka
18. Karen Khachanov
19. Jakub Mensik
20. Tommy Paul
21. Francisco Cerundolo
22. Flavio Cobolli
23. Denis Shapovalov
24. Joao Fonseca
25. Tallon Griekspoor
26. Luciano Darderi
27. Arthur Rinderknech
28. Frances Tiafoe
29. Valentin Vacherot
30. Cameron Norrie
31. Tomas Machac
32. Brandon Nakashima

As for those outside the current seeding positions, Learner Tien (No 37), Lorenzo Sonego (No 42) and Alexandre Muller (No 43) could still move into the top 32.

Meanwhile, Stefanos Tsitsipas won’t be seeded for the first time since 2018 as he is at No 33 and has not played since the US Open.

 

 

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Paige Spiranac’s surprising NFL fandom confession triggers heated debate over loyalty, authenticity, and fan culture

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The 2026 NFL Draft starts Thursday night in Pittsburgh, and the spotlight isn’t only on prospects and front offices. Golf influencer Paige Spiranac has again found herself pulled into NFL conversation, this time for her open support of multiple teams.

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With the Steelers hosting the first round, her long-standing connection to Pittsburgh has resurfaced. But it’s not just about hometown ties. Her broader fandom, which stretches beyond one franchise, continues to draw mixed reactions at a time when fan loyalty is often treated as non-negotiable.

Paige Spiranac roots for 2 NFL teams: Who are they?

Paige Spiranac has never hidden where her loyalties lie, even if they don’t fit the usual mold. She has consistently pointed to her roots while leaving space for other allegiances.

“Both my parents are from Pittsburgh so I’ve been a Steelers ..fan since the day I was born. I also love the Bills. It’s a complicated relationship…Who’s your team?” she previously asked her followers. It’s a candid admission, one that reflects personal history more than calculated fandom.

Still, the reaction has been sharp. NFL culture tends to rew ..

 

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Quiet moments on the course can say a lot about what’s coming next.

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Sometimes the most important work happens when nobody is really watching.
Lexi Thompson was out on the 18th green, working through her putting during a practice round ahead of the Chevron Championship in Houston.

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It’s a simple scene, but it shows the kind of quiet preparation that goes into these big tournaments—getting the feel of the greens, adjusting to conditions, and building trust in every stroke.

These are the small details that can shape how a player starts when the pressure kicks in.

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Predicting what will happen to Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson if LIV Golf collapses

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It looks like LIV Golf is over.

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The Saudi Public Investment Fund has reportedly decided that this league simply isn’t worth the hole it’s burning in their pocket, and they’re pulling funds at the end of 2026.

That gives them less than a year to seek new investment. While CEO Scott O’Neil seems confident, it’s going to be extremely difficult to secure funding for a league that is operating at such eye-watering losses.

So this probably pulls the curtain closed on one of the most turbulent, frustrating, confusing, and ridiculous eras in golfing history. Hopefully, we can all return to some reality after the year is over.

But there is still so much uncertainty surrounding golf’s future thanks to this. Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed saw the signs early and jumped ship, but they did that with some leverage. So what on earth is going to happen to the rest of these players who didn’t take the olive branch when it was offered to them?

Feelings will be hurt, and careers will be ended. Let’s take a look.

Jon Rahm rejoins the PGA Tour

Koepka returned to the PGA Tour under the returning member program, which saw him pay $5 million to charity, accept that he’ll receive no FedEx Cup bonus money, and agree he cannot be a sponsor exemption for the 2026 signature events.

 

That same deal was offered to Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. They didn’t accept it, but a similar offer will likely be handed out to them again.

 

If LIV Golf folds, Rahm will not hold the same leverage as Koepka did, but he is a bigger star at this stage of his career. Make no mistake, the PGA Tour will want him back immediately.

But Rahm does risk leaving himself without any options at all. Reed didn’t come straight back to the PGA Tour, so he’s spending a year on the DP World Tour first. You’d imagine Rahm would consider doing the same, but it might not be so easy for him.

Rahm is in a feud with the DP World Tour, as the only one of eight players to reject a deal which would have seen him retain his full-time membership. If Rahm agreed to play in six DP World Tour events this year, then he could have played on both LIV Golf and the tour. He did not agree.

For now, his membership is at risk. So, will it be possible for him to spend a season on the DP World Tour like Reed? Maybe not. That makes it all the more likely that Rahm will be back on the PGA Tour the moment LIV folds.

Bryson DeChambeau does YouTube full-time

With DeChambeau, I don’t think it’s as much of a done deal that he returns to the PGA Tour. Not immediately anyway.

He’s been negotiating his contract with LIV, which expires at the end of this season. During these negotiations, he’s made it very clear that he is completely willing to step away from full-time competition and be a full-time YouTuber.

DeChambeau’s channel has over two million subscribers, so he could feasibly do that with all of the money he’s making there.

He was annoyed to see LIV move to a four-day format, so he could commit himself fully to being the content king. It would be a wild thing to do, but it’s also exactly the kind of move you could see the two-time major winner making.

He could qualify for The Open Championship and the US Open, and earn enough points there to play The Masters and the PGA Championship. It’s possible.

He does seem to live for competition, so maybe YouTube won’t quite scratch the itch, but it is on the table for DeChambeau. At least for a year until his suspension expires. Out of Rahm and DeChambeau, the American is absolutely the least likely to take a deal.

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