It is a case “as you were” for the bulk of players in the top 50 in the rankings as they were competing at the Paris Olympics when no points were on offer.

But there are numerous significant tournaments on the calendar in the following weeks, as the ATP 1000 Canadian Open is followed by another Masters event, the Cincinnati Open, before the stars fly to Flushing Meadows for the last Grand Slam of the year, the US Open.

Reigning No. 1 Sinner, who returns to action after missing the Paris Games owing to illness, has the most to lose at Montreal as he is the defending champion, while Novak Djokovic has a lot of points to protect at Cincinnati and the US Open.

ATP Rankings Before Canadian Open

1. Jannik Sinner – 9,570
2. Novak Djokovic – 8,460
3. Carlos Alcaraz – 8,130
4. Alexander Zverev – 6,845
5. Daniil Medvedev – 6,525
6. Alex de Minaur – 4,185 7. Hubert Hurkacz – 4,105
8. Andrey Rublev – 3,885 8. Casper Ruud – 3,880
10. Grigor Dimitrov – 3,770

Sinner, who has been world No 1 since June 10 when he replaced Djokovic, will shed 1,000 points as the defending champion; thus he will essentially be on 8,570 points in Montreal, while he can only attain a maximum of 9,570 if he wins the tournament again.

The Italian will remain ahead of Djokovic irrespective of his performance, as the 24-time Grand Slam winner withdrew from the competition as it overlaps with the Olympics. With no points to defend, the Serbian will stay on 8,460 points.

Carlos Alcaraz is the other player with a possibility of reclaiming the No. 1 ranking.

The Spaniard has 180 points to defend in Montreal after reaching the quarterfinals last year, so he will effectively be on 7,950 points, and a title run (1,000 points) will see him go to 8,950.

If Alcaraz wins the title then Sinner will need to reach at least the semi-final (400 points) to remain at No. 1.

Points On The Line At Cincinnati & US Open

But there is good news for Sinner ahead of the next two important events on the North American hard-court circuit, as he only has 190 points to defend at the Cincinnati Open and the US Open, as he lost in the second round in Ohio last year (10 points) and in the last 16 at the Flushing Meadows (180 points).

Djokovic has the most points to defend after he won back-to-back titles last year, gaining 1,000 points when he overcame Alcaraz in the Cincinnati final and 2,000 when he beat Daniil Medvedev in New York.

A couple of mediocre events may see him leave North America with 6,000-odd points.

Alcaraz, however, will defend 600 points at Cincinnati and 720 at Flushing Meadows and would certainly need to win at least one of the two events if he wants to nip Sinner to the No 1 spot after the swing.