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Paris Masters: Where ATP No. 1 Club Members Shine
Alcaraz, Sinner look to join ranks of No. 1 indoor events
October 24, 2025
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Pete Sampras and Daniil Medvedev were members of the ATP No. 1 club who won the Rolex Paris Masters.
Written by ATP Staff
From the thunderous serves of Boris Becker and the graceful volleys of Stefan Edberg in the 1980s and 1990s, to the baseline dominance of current ATP Tour stars such as Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev, the Rolex Paris Masters has long been a proving ground for members of the ATP’s First Club.
Since the event took on a new identity in 1986, nine different ATP First Club members have won a total of 21 trophies in the indoor hard-court event. This year, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will be the favorites to join that elite roster.
Djokovic spent 428 consecutive weeks as the ATP’s No. 1 club in the PIF ATP Rankings and holds a record seven titles in the tournament. His most recent victory in Paris in 2023 marked his record 40th Masters 1000 crown. “This win is definitely one of the most special wins in the Masters 1000 category,” the Serbian said at the time.
Medvedev is part of the ATP No. 1 club in Paris this year and the 29-year-old is in fine form after winning in Almaty, his first trophy in more than two years. The 21-time Tour winner won Paris in 2020 and staged a stunning comeback against Alexander Zverev in the final. Medvedev has won nine of his last 10 games after trailing 5-7, 3-4, turning the tide of the match and his season around.
“Before the tournament, I wasn’t in good shape, and with zero results in the finals this year, I was doing pretty well,” said Medvedev, who carried his momentum into the Nitto ATP finals and won the year-end event two weeks later. “I was actually crying to my wife – not crying – but just complaining, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m not at this level, I didn’t even make the finals, I played so badly’, etc… So in the end, I became the Rolex Paris Masters champion.”
Andy Murray proved it in 2016: victory in Paris often heralds success at the season finale, the Nitto ATP Finals. Murray ended the year on a 24-match winning streak, winning his only Rolex Paris Masters title, his final victory at the Masters 1000, before defeating Novak Djokovic in the Nitto ATP Finals, a match that would determine the ATP’s year-end No. 1 crown. PIF.
Roger Federer, one of tennis’s most accomplished icons with 103 tour-level titles, found Paris a much tougher conquest. In 2011, he won just once, the Rolex Paris Masters, and ended the season with a 17-game winning streak. “I’ve tried to win in Paris many times but for some reason I couldn’t. This was a special win,” Federer reflected.
The Rolex Paris Masters moved from carpet to hard court in 2007, but even in the carpet era, conditions favored heavy-hitters like Mara Safin, who won three of the first five titles of the 21st century (2000, 2002, 2004).
Safin also reached the 1999 final, but lost to Andre Agassi, who along with rival Pete Sampras won multiple Paris titles in the 1990s. Agassi completed a rare double in Paris in 1999, winning the French Open and indoor double in November. In 1994, he won the Paris Masters for the first time.
Sandwiched between Agassi’s victory in Paris, Sampras won the title twice. In 1997, Sampras won eight tour-level titles that year alone, Paris being one of them. In 1995, the American player defeated Becker in the final to win the Paris championship. Becker is the first player to win the Paris title three times (1986, 1989 and 1992).
Edberg’s aggressive game and excellent tennis skills helped him win the 1990 Paris title. A rematch of that year’s epic five-set Wimbledon final, the Paris final was far less dramatic. Becker retired after playing just six games due to a thigh injury. This was the only retirement in 35 Lexus ATP Head2Head matches between Edberg and Becker.
Alcaraz and Sinner, this year’s top seeds, have yet to win at the Rolex Paris Masters. Could the latest version allow one of them to lift the trophy in a week’s time?
