The Next Gen ATP Finals kicked off in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday with a surprising turn of events, as Spain’s Rafael Jodar defeated the heavily favored Learner Tien from the U.S. during their opening round-robin match.
Tien, who was the runner-up last year to João Fonseca, entered the tournament ranked 28th globally following a successful full season on the ATP Tour. The other seven competitors range from world rankings of 116 to 187, with Jodar positioned at 168 and having never participated in a full ATP Tour match. The format of the Next Gen ATP Finals involves matches played to four games.
During the match, Jodar began poorly, with his forehand often going wide as Tien claimed the first set. However, Jodar capitalized on some mistakes by Tien in the second and fourth sets to push the match to a final set. Despite Tien serving for the match in the fifth set, Jodar forced a tiebreak, which he ultimately won, securing a shocking victory with scores of 1-4, 4-3(3), 1-4, 4-2, 4-3(4).
Several prominent entrants, including Jakub Menšík from Czechia and Fonseca from Brazil, withdrew from the tournament prior due to injuries. Menšík and Fonseca topped the ‘Race to Jeddah’ standings, which counts seasonal ranking points, allowing Jodar, who was ninth in the race, to step in; Rei Sakamoto from Japan also withdrew, enabling Justin Engel of Germany, the youngest competitor at 18, to participate.
Jodar ended his season on a high note, winning two consecutive ATP Challenger Tour titles. Just below Tien in the Race to Jeddah were Alexander Blockx, who reached the second round of the Cincinnati Masters this summer, and Martin Landaluce, who won a Challenger Tour title in September against rising Belgian talent Raphaël Collignon.
Other qualified players include Croatian Dino Prižmić, who had a notable match against Novak Djokovic at the 2024 Australian Open, and Nishesh Basavareddy from the U.S. Meanwhile, Nicolai Budkov Kjær from Norway secured his spot by winning four Challenger titles this season. The draw for the tournament has been grouped into Blue and Red categories, as outlined below.
Group Draw and Match Format
The eight qualified players were divided into pairs for the draw based on their rankings in the ‘ATP Race to Jeddah.’ The competition format features four matches daily in the group stages, leading to a final on December 21 and semifinals on December 20.
Last Year’s Champion
João Fonseca clinched the title in 2024 by defeating Tien with scores of 2-4, 4-3, 4-0, 4-2, marking the first event exclusively for players 20 and under.
Prize Money Structure
All eight participants receive $154,000 (£114,740) just for taking part. Match victories during round-robin play yield $37,500 (£27,940), while a semifinal win grants $113,500 (£86,425) and the final victory earns $157,250 (£117,155). An undefeated champion could potentially take home $539,750 (£402,130).
