Double
How a tire change supported Skupski’s return to World No. 1 doubled
Briton won the Australian Open with Christian Harrison
February 04, 2026
ATP Tour/Getty Images
Neal Skupski is back at the top of the PIF ATP Doubles Rankings.
By ATP staff
Neal Skupski has returned to the PIF ATP Doubles Rankings, rising to World No. 1 for the first time in 29 months.
The Briton’s rise to the top was marked in spectacular fashion, as he won the Australian Open alongside Christian Harrison. Their partnership began this offseason and produced a memorable start, when the two changed a tire together. After the duo’s victory in Melbourne, Skupski rose from number 9 to number 1.
“I knew then that there was a chance to get back to World No. 1,” said the 36-year-old Skupski. “I think that’s the best way to get No. 1 – to win a Grand Slam.”
Harrison and Skupski were competing together in their second championship in Melbourne, reaching their second major of the season after the semi-final in Adelaide. Down a set in the opening round of the Australian Open and twice facing 0/40 in their performance in the second set, Harrison and Skupski came out of trouble against Jakob Schnaitter and Mark Wallner.
“We watched a lot of film after that to see where we could improve,” Skupski said. “And it’s really helped us move forward every two weeks.”
Harrison and Skupski downed home favorites Jason Kubler and Marc Polmans 7-6(4), 6-4 in the championship match. The duo’s synergy and chemistry, built during the offseason in an unexpected way, was a success as the pair did not drop a set after their first round shock.
“Probably our first team-building event was changing one of the wheels of Christianity,” Skupski said. “Christian came to Baton Rouge to do the preseason with me in December for one week. He got a flat in his rental car, so we did that as a team together. It was really funny.”
Skupski has won 18 tour-level doubles titles throughout his distinguished career, including two major crowns (2023 Wimbledon, partnered with Wesley Koolhof). In November 2022, Skupski moved up to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Doubles Rankings for the first time. A three-time qualifier for the Nitto ATP Finals, Skupski most recently held the No. 1 title in August 2023.
“I think the only thing that was different was that the first time I was nervous going into one of the matches at the end of 2022 knowing that if I won that match in Paris, we knew that we would be number 1, me and Koolhof,” said Skupski.
After reflecting on his journey back to the top, Skupski is looking forward to new challenges and goals in 2026.
“Being back at World No. 1 brings confidence and it’s been a great start to the year for Christian,” said Skupski. “Now is the time to move forward and we must reassess our goals.
“Winning the Grand Slam was one of our goals at the beginning of the season, so we will have to think about that and come up with new things that we have set ourselves.”
