Tennis

Shapovalov ranks career-high 15th after reaching first Paris Masters final

Rafael Nadal is back at the top of the ATP rankings for the first time since November 2018, while Canada's Denis Shapovalov has climbed to a career-best 15th after an impressive display of tennis at the Paris Masters.

Rafael Nadal returns to No. 1 spot; Andreescu falls to 5th in WTA rankings

Canada's Denis Shapovalov has jumped 13 spots to a career-best 15th in the ATP rankings after appearing in his first Masters 1000 final on Sunday in Paris, where the 20-year-old lost in straight sets to world No. 2 Novak Djokovic. (Christophe Archambault/AFP via Getty Images)

Rafael Nadal is back at the top of the ATP rankings for the first time since November 2018, while Canada's Denis Shapovalov has climbed to a career-best 15th.

The Richmond Hill, Ont., native jumped 13 spots, thanks to an impressive display of tennis last week in Paris, where Shapovalov lost in his first Masters 1000 final in straight sets to Novak Djokovic. The latter dropped to second in the rankings despite posting his 77th career victory.

In Paris, Shapovalov disposed of higher-ranked opponents, including No. 6 Alexander Zverev of Germany in the Round of 16.

"It's an unbelievable week for me, but it doesn't stop here," he said. "It's back to the court, back to practising.

"And I want to be beating guys like Novak so I have to improve, get better, find a way to return better against his serve. 

WATCH | Shapovalov take on Djokovic in the finals:

Match Wrap: Shapovalov falls to Djokovic in Paris Masters final

5 years ago
Duration 1:42
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic beats Canada's Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 6-4 to claim his 5th Paris Masters title.

Shapovalov, 20, was gifted a spot in the final when Nadal withdrew with an abdominal injury before their semifinal match.

Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime, who is out with a left ankle injury, dropped two spots to No. 21, while Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., held steady at No. 32.

Brayden Schnur of Pickering, Ont., jumped six spots to 93 after advancing to the final of a Challenger event last week in Charlottesville, Va., where he lost to fellow Canadian Vasek Pospisil.

Vancouver's Pospisil, who returned to action this season after undergoing surgery for a herniated disc, moved up 21 spots to No. 153.

Abdominal injury

At 33, Nadal has become the second-oldest No. 1 player. Roger Federer led the rankings at the age of 36 last year.

Nadal has been No. 1 for 197 weeks through eight different stints at the top. Federer leads the all-time list with 310 weeks.

Nadal missed the season-ending ATP Finals in London a year ago because of the abdominal injury, but hopes he can recover in time for this year's tournament starting Nov. 10.

Federer stayed third in the rankings ahead of Daniil Medvedev.

Nadal has a 51-6 record and has won four titles this season, including the French Open and the U.S. Open. The Spaniard also reached the Australian Open final.

He is looking to seal the year-end top ranking for the fifth time.

Andreescu slips to No. 5

On the women's side, Mississauga, Ont.-born Bianca Andreescu has dropped one spot to fifth after becoming the highest-ranked Canadian tennis player in WTA Tour history last month.

An injured left knee forced the 19-year-old to withdraw on Thursday ahead of her final round-robin match at the season-ending WTA Finals.

Andreescu reached a Canadian record No. 4 in the world rankings after winning her first three career tournaments, including the U.S. Open for her first Grand Slam title.

Ranked outside the top 150 entering the season, Andreescu ​​​​​​had a 17-match win streak snapped when she lost a quarter-final match to Naomi Osaka at the China Open earlier this month.

With files from CBC Sports and The Canadian Press