Superstars dominated this season carlos alcaraz And Janic SinnerHad a memorable and perhaps era-defining year on the ATP Tour.
But there is still one more tournament to play – and there is a lot at stake.
While most professional tennis players have begun their offseason, the top men are still in action and focused on ending 2025 with an ATP Finals title. The event, held for the fifth consecutive year at the Pala Alpitour Arena in Turin, Italy, features the top eight singles players and eight doubles teams and will begin with round-robin group play on Sunday. After six days of competition, the top two from their respective groups advance to the semi-finals, with each player or pair playing three matches.
The tournament will conclude on November 16, with the undefeated singles champion earning a record-breaking $5,071,000, and the winning doubles team earning $959,300. An undefeated winner, in both singles and doubles, also earns 1,500 in ranking points. (If a title-winning player or team loses a match during group play, he or she will receive less prize money and ranking points.)
Not sure what to expect or who to keep an eye on at the last ATP tournament of the season? Here’s everything you need to know.
who is inside
single
Jimmy Connors Group
1. Carlos Alcaraz
6. Taylor Fritz
Bjorn Borg Group
2. Genital sinner
5. ben shelton
8. felix auger-aliassime Or Lorenzo Musetti (More on this below)
gets doubled
Peter Fleming Group
1. Julian Cash And Lloyd Glasspool
3. marcel granollers And Horacio Zeballos
6. Kevin Kravitz And Tim Puetz
7. Simone Bolelli And Andrea Vavassori
John McEnroe Group
2. harry heliovara And henry patton
4. marcelo arevalo And mate pavik
5. joe salisbury And neil skupski
8. Christian Harrison And evan king
The Big Two battle for No. 1
It’s hard to adequately express how impactful Alcaraz and Sinner were this season. The two – who currently have a gap of more than 5,000 points between them and the rest of the tour in the rankings – split four major titles, with Alcaraz claiming the French Open and US Open and Sinner winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon. They faced each other in the finals of three of those Slams.
And their tremendous grip on trophies remained strong even away from the major teams. Alcaraz won six other titles this year, including three at Masters-1000 events, and Sinner won three titles this fall, including the Paris Masters earlier this month.
But while there is a deficit in between big two And the rest are huge, with very little separating Alcaraz and Sinner — and the odds of No. 1 at year’s end are also in play. Papi, 24, narrowly escaped victory in Paris But it will be a short tenure. The 22-year-old Alcaraz will return to the lead at the ATP Finals, and will be able to remain there for the rest of the year if he remains undefeated in his three round-robin matches or reaches the final.
Alcaraz, who was year-end No. 1 in 2022, has never won an ATP Finals, and Sinner won the title last year and finished the 2024 season on top. If it hasn’t already been made clear here, both are the undisputed favorites entering this event. The only question is can anyone stop them?
djokovic factor
There is much speculation regarding Novak Djokovic’s status heading into the year-end tournament as he has played very little in the second half of the season. Outside of the Slams, he has appeared in only two tournaments since May and he skipped the final Masters 1000-event of the year in Paris earlier this month.
Djokovic, 38, officially qualified for the ATP Finals last month, after a season in which he reached the semi-finals at all four major events and won the 250-tier title in Geneva. However he has been unsure about his plans to play.
“We have confirmation that Djokovic will be in Turin,” Italian Tennis Federation head Angelo Binaghi said on Italian radio channel Rai GR Parlamento on Monday.
But the 24-time major champion denied Binaghi’s claims on Tuesday. “I don’t know where [Binaghi] Got this information from. Certainly not from me or my team,” Djokovic told reporters after victory in the round of 16 at the Hellenic Championships in Athens – where his brother Djordje is the tournament director. “I will make my decision at the end of this tournament.”
As of Friday, Djokovic still hasn’t shared his plans, but, in fairness, he hasn’t made it to the end of the tournament either. On Saturday, he’ll play in his third final of the season when he faces Lorenzo Musetti (more below on what makes this an incredibly compelling matchup) and then will surely announce whether he’s heading to Turin or calling it a season.
No matter what he does, it marks Djokovic’s 18th time qualifying for the ATP Finals – tied roger federerAll-time record – and, if he plays, he will have a chance to extend his own record by winning the title for the eighth time. Djokovic withdrew from the 2024 edition, but he won it the last two years in 2022 and 2023. Although he has acknowledged his struggles in facing Alcaraz and Sinner, perhaps Turin could be the place where he gets his revenge.
If he plays, that is.
American
Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz will be in action in Italy — and it’s the first time two American men will compete for a year-end singles title. andy roddick And james blake Did this in 2006. And while neither is considered a favorite (please see the previous section on the Big Two for clarity here), both have had strong seasons and are capable of reaching the semifinals or pulling off final upsets.
In fact, Fritz has returned to the ATP Finals in 2024 after reaching the final, so he knows exactly what it takes. Following his successful season last year, in which he also reached the US Open final, the 28-year-old reached his first Wimbledon semi-final this year, in addition to making the quarterfinals at the US Open and winning two ATP titles. He appeared in the final of the Japan Open in September and lost to Alcaraz. Making his third appearance at the ATP Finals, Fritz reached the semifinals in his debut in 2022 and will once again look to advance out of group play.
While Fritz has the experience, 23-year-old Shelton qualified for the first time this year after a breakout season. Shelton, who is currently ranked sixth in her career, reached the semifinals at the Australian Open and the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, in addition to winning her first Masters 1000-level title at the Canadian Open. A shoulder injury derailed him at the US Open and ultimately sidelined him for more than a month – but still managed to secure his place in Turin by reaching the quarter-finals at the Paris Masters in late October.
Shelton said he was trying not to focus on making the ATP Finals while playing in Paris – but after officially punching his ticket he couldn’t hide how much it meant to him.
“At the end of the day I knew if I wanted to take control of my destiny I had to go out and win today,” Shelton said after qualifying. “And when I stepped on the court I knew I had to die on this court before I went down… It’s huge. It’s huge for me. It was always a big goal, [and] The most important thing is that I played today to get back to this level. “I want to stay here.”
On the doubles side, the All-American pair of Christian Harrison and Evan King finished last after a remarkable debut season together. Entering the year, neither the 31-year-old Harrison nor the 33-year-old King had ever won an ATP title. This year, he has won three, including 500-level events in Dallas and Mexico, and reached his first major semifinal at the French Open. They are the first American team to make the ATP Finals since the eventual champions mike brian And jack sock Did so in 2018 – and will try to finish 2025 as his compatriots did by earning their biggest title yet.
procrastinators
While Alcaraz secured his place for Turin in July, and Sinner did the same the following month, other players waited until Very Last minute to finalize your travel plans. (Warning: For those who like to plan their trips and book their flights months in advance, this section is probably not for you.)
Like Shelton, Alex de Minaur qualified for the tournament (for the second consecutive year) on 30 October after a successful performance at the Paris Masters. And that left only one place. At that time, Musetti was in next place with a 290-point lead over Félix Auger-Aliassime.
But this is where things got interesting. Musetti had lost in the round of 32 in Paris and Auger-Aliassime took advantage of this opportunity by reaching the final. While a win would have secured the spot, he lost to Sinner but still held a 160-point lead over Musetti entering the final week of the regular season.
However, the Canadian was forced to withdraw from the tournament due to a knee injury – putting fate entirely in Musetti’s hands. Musetti can only clinch a spot by winning the title on Saturday, playing in Athens. Yes, just a day before the start of the ATP Finals in another country.
And, no matter how impossible it may seem, that’s where we stand right now. As previously reported, Musetti will face Djokovic in the final on Saturday. It’s been a challenging week for Musetti – needing three sets against stan wawrinka More match points saved in the round of 16 Sebastian Korda in a tight three-set semi-final on Friday – but he has somehow found a way to keep his hopes of qualifying for his first ATP final alive.
Can he end his miraculous run with a trophy and a ticket to Turin on Saturday? Or will Auger-Aliassime get a bid? Stay tuned.
the fun doubled
While Harrison and King would try to surprise on the field, Kevin Kravitz And Tim Puetz Would like to defend their trophy in Italy. The German pair made their inaugural appearance as a team in 2024 and walked away with a final farewell gift. She won titles in Halle and Shanghai this year, in addition to a semi-final appearance at the Australian Open. Can he join the list of champions again?
Perhaps But it will not be easy. marcel granollers And Horacio Zeballos Won both the French Open and US Open this season, as well as three other titles, and a 5–0 record in finals in 2025. They reached the final in 2023, and Granollers won the title in 2012, and could be the favorites to win it all.
Australian Open Champion harry heliovara And henry patton and Wimbledon winner Julian Cash And Lloyd Glasspool are also in the field. Heliovara and Patton are coming off a winning performance at the Paris Masters and the top-seeded British pair of Cash and Glasspool have reached an astonishing 11(!) Tour finals in 2025 and won seven of them. Both of those teams will surely be more motivated than ever to end their milestone seasons with another trophy.
