Stefanos Tsitsipas is at risk of a potentially sizeable drop down the rankings as he prepares for his title defence at the 2026 Dubai Championships.
The Greek star is currently ranked 33rd in the world — well below the career-high position of world No 3 that he first ascended to in August 2021.
Tsitsipas was previously an established presence in the top 10, having finished sixth or higher in five consecutive years between 2019 and 2023.
After finishing 2024 at 11th in the rankings, Tsitsipas ended a 2025 season filled with injury and form struggles at 36th in the world.
Tsitsipas’ title win at the Dubai Championships last February-March, where he beat Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final, was the bright spot in his year.
After that triumph, he only won back-to-back matches at three more events for the remainder of 2025 — the last of which was the Barcelona Open in April.
Why Tsitsipas is in danger of sliding down the rankings after a brutal Dubai draw
Tsitsipas collected 50 points for reaching the quarter-finals at the ATP 500 in Doha this week, which has given him a three-place jump to 30th in the Live ATP Rankings.
While this is a welcome boost for Tsitsipas, the concern is that he is defending almost a third of his 1,535 ranking points at the ATP 500 in Dubai next week.
The 27-year-old’s ranking ensured that he would be unseeded in Dubai this year, which left him vulnerable to a difficult draw right from the opening round.
Although Tsitsipas has avoided the eight seeded players, he has been drawn to face world No 36 Ugo Humbert, who is arguably as difficult an opponent as he could have met.
Humbert has been ranked as high as 13th and he won the Dubai Championships in 2024.
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More significantly, Humbert holds a 3-1 record against Tsitsipas, with all four matches coming on hard-court between 2020 and 2023 — when Tsitsipas was performing at a much higher level than he has over the past year.
The aggressive left-hander is a difficult matchup for Tsitsipas given he has the tools to exploit the Greek’s weaknesses with his backhand and return of serve.
If Tsitsipas were to lose to Humbert in Dubai, his points tally would drop from 1,535 to 1,035, which would leave him 50th in the current ATP Live Rankings. It could even see him drop out of the top 50 depending on other results.
Even if Tsitsipas overcomes Humbert, he faces a daunting potential path, with Andrey Rublev — who he lost to in Doha this week — a likely second round opponent.
The two-time Grand Slam finalist is projected to meet fourth seed Jack Draper in the quarter-finals, second seed Alexander Bublik in the last four and top seed Auger-Aliassime in the final.
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