The final event of the ATP calendar will be the Next Gen ATP Finals, which will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, starting Dec. 15. The lineup has been set, with eight of the best under-20 players on the Tour set to take center stage. However, defending champion João Fonseca withdrew from the event despite still being within the eligible age to defend his title. Here’s a look at the eight players who have qualified for the showpiece event in Jeddah.
Who Are the Top 8 Players Qualified for the Next Gen ATP Finals?
The highest-ranked player at this year’s ATP Next Gen Finals will be Czechia’s Jakub Menšík, who finished inside the top 20 in the ATP rankings this year, currently at No. 19. He has a 33-20 win-loss record for the season and won a Masters 1000 title in Miami, overcoming the great Novak Djokovic in the final.
There are two American players in the lineup for the Next Gen ATP Finals as well: Learner Tien and Nishesh Basavareddy. Tien has done wonders on the main Tour this year, securing wins against the likes of Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev and winning his maiden title at the Moselle Open at the end of the year. Basavareddy had a below-average season on the Tour, winning seven of his 20 matches, and also had a modest 6-7 record on the Challenger Tour.
There are two Spanish players, Rafael Jodar and Martin Landaluce, who will be in action at this year’s Next Gen ATP Finals. Jodar did not play any Tour-level tennis this year but had an impressive outing on the Challenger Tour, winning three titles from three finals. Landaluce, on the other hand, won only one Tour-level match but fared better on the Challenger circuit, where he won a title.
Another impressive player in the Jeddah lineup is Norway’s Nikolai Budkov Kjaer. The Norwegian has yet to make a major impression on the main Tour, but his 34-16 win-loss record, including four titles on the Challenger Tour, shows that he is not far from making a splash at the highest level. The other two players in the Next Gen ATP Finals lineup are Dino Prižmić of Croatia and Alexander Blockx of Belgium.
The likes of Menšík and Tien are the pre-tournament favorites, as this is the second appearance at the Next Gen ATP Finals for both players, having competed in the event last year. The other American player, Basavareddy, also appeared in last year’s final-eight lineup.