Looking for Tennis and Racket Sports International News?

Could next week’s Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM prove a stepping stone to greatness for the eight-strong field in Jeddah?

Jiri Lehecka is in no doubt as to the impact of the 21-and-under event on his professional tennis journey so far. The Czech star, who is currently No. 31 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, reached the final at the 2022 edition in Milan. His experience there is one that still shapes him, even one year on.

“I always think about it, because that has still been one of the nicest experiences for me as a player,” the 22-year-old Lehecka told ATPTour.com. “It was just something amazing and I was very happy that it was that kind of tournament where they showed us what it really means to be a top, top tennis player.

“They literally threw us into all the media attention, into the big arena, playing with a new format, trying new rules. It was a great week, I played very good there and I enjoyed it. Of course, it had been a great motivation for me to be in the final eight."

This year, a new group of young ATP Tour stars will vie for glory at a tournament that counts current Top 10 players Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Stefanos Tsitsipas among its former champions. Arthur Fils, Luca Van Assche, Dominic Stricker, Alex Michelsen, Flavio Cobolli, Hamad Medjedovic, Luca Nardi and Abdullah Shelbayh will each hope that a strong run at the event’s new home in Saudi Arabia can help propel them to even bigger and better things.

Carlos Alcaraz is used to carving up opponents, week-in, week-out, on the tennis courts of the ATP Tour. One of the keys to the Spaniard’s success is his reading of the game, his tactical nous, and his ability to strategically outthink his opponents during rallies.

So how do those skills help the 20-year-old when it comes to chasing victories on a chess board? Alcaraz is a keen chess player, whose grandfather introduced him to the game when he was a young boy. His passion for it has endured until today.

“It helps me be mentally quicker, to observe moves, see the move you want to make, strategy... concentrating all the time,” said Alcaraz in an interview with Marca. “In chess, like in tennis, if you take your eye off the ball for a minute you can lose the match. In that regard, they are pretty similar disciplines. It helps me because you are focused, your mind is working.”

Fans of tennis and chess alike now have the chance to test Alcaraz’s skills with bishop and pawn in hand. The No. 2 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and winner of 12 ATP Tour titles, including two Grand Slams, has been introduced as a Chess.com bot that any user can challenge virtually on the platform.

♟️???? https://t.co/1kuObxBjOT

The ATP and Tennis Data Innovations (TDI) in partnership with Kinexon, will deliver unprecedented insights at the 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM. Using state-of-the-art tracking metrics, the insights will assess the physical capacity required to compete at the highest professional level of our sport. The Physicality Index (PI) will allow fans and media to objectively evaluate and quantify the physical outputs of two players competing against each other at the 21-and-under event.

It is important to understand that the Physicality Index (PI) is NOT a direct measurement of the athletes overall tactical performance. It is only reflective of the physical work being produced by each athlete during the match.

At the 2021 Next Gen ATP Finals, Carlos Alcaraz won all five of his matches, spending less than 6.5 hours on court, and only dropping one set in the entire event. From a PI perspective, he worked harder than his opponents in four of the five matches, and his highest match physicality never reached above a 3.4 in the tournament. This did not mean he was not performing at a very high level, but rather indicated that he was able to execute tactically while being very efficient with how much energy he was spending on court.

A similar pattern is visible in the NBA. All-Stars tend to have a lower physicality index ranking because of how efficient they are within different parts of the game. They know when to push and how to save energy while still being on the court, contributing to the overall success of the team.

Tennis champions are some of the most physically fit athletes in the world and are asked to move around the court, executing shots from compromising positions, while staying balanced over multiple hours. The highest levels of tennis set themselves apart from other sports due to the combination of skill and athleticism rarely seen in other sports.

The 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM will award a tournament-record $2 million in prize money at the 21-and-under event, which will be played in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from 28 November-2 December.

If the champion at this year’s tournament lifts the trophy with a perfect record, he will earn $514,000, an increase over the previous record.

Three matches at this year’s Next Gen ATP Finals will be worth more than $100,000. Each semi-final victory will be worth $113,500 and the championship match will yield the winner $153,000. The participation fee for each player at the event is $150,000.

Prize Money 2023

Alternate	$15,000
Participation Fee	$150,000
Round-robin match win	$32,500
Semi-final match win	$113,500
Final win	$153,000
Undefeated champion	$514,000

Frenchman Arthur Fils and American Alex Michelsen had the honour Friday of opening practice on stadium court at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM, the first ATP-sanctioned event ever held in Saudi Arabia.

Fils and Michelsen are the first two players to arrive for the season-ending 21-and-under event, which will be played at the King Abdullah Sports City from 28 November to 2 December.

"It's the first time we have practicsed together, so it was very nice and the court is very nice," said World No. 36 Fils. "The atmosphere during matches is going to be very good and we're all looking forward to playing the event.

"It's going to be interesting playing with some new rules, like playing to four games."

 

As he prepares for the tournament, Michelsen has spent a very different Thanksgiving holiday than he did 12 months ago.

Sky has agreed new five-year partnerships with both ATP Media, the broadcast arm of the ATP, and WTA Ventures, the commercial arm of the WTA, which will see over 80 tournaments made up of 4000 matches available on Sky Sports, NOW and WOW.

Both Tours will be available for fans year-round with Sky having secured rights exclusively in the U.K. and Ireland, Italy, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, as well as non-exclusive rights in Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, and South Tyrol.

The two Tours will showcase the world's top players such as World No. 1s Iga Swiatek and Novak Djokovic, alongside Rafael Nadal, Aryna Sabalenka, Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev and the returning Naomi Osaka as well as the ‘new era’ of tennis stars including Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff, Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu, competing at all levels including at combined Masters 1000 events taking place in Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Rome, and Cincinnati, and both the Nitto ATP Finals and WTA Finals. From 2024, Sky Sports will create a new home for tennis all year round, delivering the live action from the six continents direct to fans.

Sky Sports coverage will be led by presenter Gigi Salmon, alongside Tim Henman and Laura Robson who will offer their expert analysis and insights across the two Tours, with Jonathan
Overend on the match commentary. The Sky Sports team will also be joined by additional talent and co-commentators at various events across the season.

[SWEEPSTAKES]

Novak Djokovic has guided Serbia into Saturday's Davis Cup semi-finals in Malaga, where he will face a third showdown with World No. 4 Italian Jannik Sinner in less than two weeks.

World No. 1 Djokovic defeated Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-4  in one hour, 41 minutes to give Serbia an unassailable 2-0 lead after World No. 55 Miomir Kecmanovic had earlier held his nerve to edge Jack Draper 7-6(2), 7-6(6) in a match in which neither player was able to break serve.

[ATP APP]

Djokovic, who helped Serbia win its first Davis Cup title in 2010, continued the impressive serving he displayed in Turin, dropping just eight points on serve, while hitting 16 forehand winners, double Norrie's tally. A winner of 98 tour-level titles, Djokovic took control of the match with an immediate break of serve in the first game of the second set.

Less than two weeks ago Djokovic lost a third-set tie-break to Sinner in group player in the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, before he avenged that defeat with a commanding 6-3, 6-3 victory in the championship match last Sunday. The 40-time ATP Masters 1000 champion will take a 4-1 lead in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series into the semi-finals.

Jannik Sinner is delighting Italian fans for the second consecutive week after pulling double duty to lead Italy to a comeback victory over The Netherlands in their Davis Cup quarter-final in Malaga, Spain.

Fresh of his run to the title match at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, Sinner survived a tight opening set with Tallon Griekspoor before breaking open the match in the second to run out a confident 7-6(3), 6-1 winner to level the tie at 1-1.

He then partnered Lorenzo Sonego to a 6-3, 6-4 win over Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof to book Italy’s semi-final spot against the winner of Thursday evening’s tie between Serbia, led by World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, and Great Britain.

In his singles win against Griekspoor, Sinner leveraged his dramatically improved serve this year to drop just six points on his delivery, firing nine aces while also cracking 10 forehand winners.

Botic van de Zandschulp had earlier given The Netherlands a 1-0 lead when he saved two match points to defeat Matteo Arnaldi 6-7(6), 6-3, 7-6(7) in two hours, 52 minutes.

Frances Tiafoe is a prominent supporter of the NBA's Washington Wizards, but this week the American paid a visit to another one of his favourite local pro teams. Instead of the basketball hardwood, Tiafoe hit the ice for some hockey with the NHL's Washington Capitals.

"That's way faster than it looks!" a surprised Tiafoe said after attempting to control a pass.

The World No. 16 was more at ease when he mixed in some tennis fun, rallying with Capitals forward Tom Wilson and bombing serves to test the players' reactions. Tiafoe also made time for a photo opportunity with NHL legend Alex Ovechkin in the locker room, and the pair signed a tennis racquet and a hockey stick for one another.

A native of Hyattsville, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C., Tiafoe has supported the teams in the area since his youth. Speaking in front of the Capitals team, Tiafoe explained that he grew up playing tennis just 20 minutes outside of the city.

Check out the full video above for an inside look at Tiafoe's time with the NHL stars. 

Alex de Minaur led a great escape for Australia at the Davis Cup Final 8 on Wednesday to send his country into the semi-finals in Malaga.

The 2022 Davis Cup runners-up were in a big hole against the Czech Republic after Tomas Machac beat Jordan Thompson 6-4, 7-5 and Jiri Lehecka built a 6-4, 5-3 lead against De Minaur. But from deuce in his 3-5 service game, the 24-year-old won 10 straight points to turn the match on its head. 

Showing his famed fighting spirit, De Minaur levelled the tie at 1-1 with a 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-5 victory, breaking late in the final set before serving out the match to love.

[SWEEPSTAKES]

That set the stage for a decisive doubles rubber that pit Aussies Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell against Czechs Lehecka and Adam Pavlasek. Behind a single break in each set, Ebden/Purcell scored a 6-4, 7-5 win to put Australia through to the semi-finals.

After a successful start to their new player-coach relationship, Holger Rune and Boris Becker will continue working together during the 2024 ATP Tour season.

Rune's team initially confirmed the partnership on 19 October, and the Dane has posted a 6-4 record since then, reaching the Basel semi-finals and the Rolex Paris Masters quarters before narrowly missing out on the Nitto ATP Finals knockout rounds with a 1-2 mark in Turin.

Forza, vamos , allez, kom jetzt ? https://t.co/4MzE001BWt

— Holger Rune (@holgerrune2003) November 19, 2023

Rune reached a career-high Pepperstone ATP Ranking of No. 4 in August after a strong start to the season but slumped after reaching consecutive major quarter-finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Prior to his Basel run in his first tournament after confirming Becker as his coach, Rune had just one win in eight matches.

The Dane pushed Novak Djokovic — who was previously coached by Becker — to three sets in both Paris-Bercy and Turin but was beaten on both occasions by the World No. 1. In his Nitto ATP Finals debut, Rune was one set away from qualifying for the knockout rounds but ultimately fell just short in a three-set loss to home favourite and eventual finalist Jannik Sinner in his final group-stage match.

Finland's best-ever Davis Cup run continued on Tuesday at the Final 8 in Malaga, where Otto Virtanen scored wins in singles and doubles to send his country through to the semi-finals at the expense of defending champion Canada.

The 22-year-old Virtanen defeated Canada's Gabriel Diallo 6-4, 7-5 to force a decisive doubles rubber, then teamed with Harri Heliovaara to beat Alexis Galarneau and Vasek Pospisil 7-5, 6-3 in front of vocal Finnish support in Spain.

[SWEEPSTAKES]

Virtanen's heroics were required after Milos Raonic staked Canada an early advantage with a 6-3, 7-5 victory against Patrick Kaukovalta to open the day's play. The 32-year-old Raonic opened the match with four straight aces and never looked back.

But Virtanen levelled the tie by breaking once in each set against Diallo, and a late break in each set of the doubles match sealed a famous victory for the Finns.

In the early stages of his budding career, Jordan’s Abdullah Shelbayh is already etching his name in history.

The 20-year-old, who is at a career-high No. 187 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, became the first Jordanian to win a main-draw ATP Tour match in April and has since continued his rapid rise. Shelbayh will have another opportunity to perform on a big stage as a wild card at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Shelbayh is doing it all with the pride of Jordan behind him.

“It makes me happy to represent my country and the Arab world,” Shelbayh told ATPTour.com. “There is some pressure but you feel like it’s good pressure to have on your shoulders when you’re representing your country and the region you come from.”

[ATP APP]

Covering a total area of 34,170 sq miles, Serbia is the 111th largest county in the world. While it may not be the biggest in size, it is a nation that has produced world-class tennis players throughout the years. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic is the clear example, with now-retired Janko Tipsarevic and Viktor Troicki climbing as high as No. 8 and No. 12, respectively, in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

Aiming to follow in their footsteps is 20-year-old Hamad Medjedovic, who will compete at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM in Jeddah next week.

“It was a big thing for sure growing up, having so many good players in our country,” Medjedovic told ATPTour.com when discussing his early influences. “I remember starting to watch tennis when I was a kid. We had Novak [Djokovic], Viktor [Troicki] and Janko [Tipsarevic] and they were so good.

“I remember watching them constantly. As a kid it gave me a lot of motivation to start playing tennis and then to become one of them because I saw that they could do it. They're coming from a small country, same as me, and it gave me a lot of motivation and self-belief that I could do it as well.”

[ATP APP]

Brazil and Chile have qualified for the United Cup, completing the 18-team line-up for the 2024 event.

Brazil qualified on the strength of their top WTA player Beatriz Haddad Maia, the current world No.11 who closed her 2023 season on a high note with victory at the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai.

She cracked the Top 10 in June shortly after Roland Garros, where she enjoyed her best Grand Slam result with a run to the semi-finals.

Haddad Maia will be joined by teammates Marcelo Melo, Thiago Seyboth Wild, Felipe Meligeni Alves and Carolina Alves.

Team Brazil has landed in Group A – headed by No.1 seed Poland – and will play its matches at RAC Arena in Perth. This sets up a showdown between Haddad Maia and World No.1 Iga Swiatek, a rematch of their Roland Garros semi-final.

On Sunday night, Novak Djokovic was lifting the Nitto ATP Finals trophy for a record seventh time. Less than 24 hours had passed when he boarded a flight on Monday at 4:10 pm CET, carrying the No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings from Turin to Malaga, where he joined Serbia’s team in the Final 8 of the Davis Cup.

In the terminal, he was awaited by Feliciano Lopez, the director of the Davis Cup, who gave him a special welcome: “What’s up, man?! Congratulations!” “Hey, man,” Djokovic answered jokingly before a warm embrace.

The Balkan side, captained by Viktor Troicki, and led by Djokovic, will also count Laslo Djere, Dusan Lajovic, Miomir Kecmanovic and Hamad Medjedovic among its ranks.

[SWEEPSTAKES]

Serbia will play in the quarter-finals of the competition on Thursday 23 November (not before 4:00 pm CET) against a Great Britain outfit that will have to make do without Andy Murray, who recently announced his withdrawal. The news means Cameron Norrie, Jack Draper, Liam Broady, Neal Skupski and Joe Salisbury will take on Djokovic’s men.

Duje Ajdukovic and American Patrick Kypson ascended to career-highs in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings Monday after they each claimed their second ATP Challenger Tour title of the season this weekend.

Ajdukovic returned to the winners’ circle in Kobe, Japan, where he cruised past home hope Sho Shimabukoro 6-4, 6-2 in the Hyogo Noah Challenger final. Ajdukovic, 22, won three deciding-set matches en route to the title.

The split native won his maiden Challenger title in August in Luedenscheid, Germany and following his title run in Japan, Ajdukovic is at a career-high No. 145 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

Kypson defeated second seed Alex Michelsen 6-4, 6-3 in the Paine Schwartz Partners Challenger final in Champaign, Illinois. The 24-year-old American started the year outside the Top 500 and has now risen to a career-high No. 192 following his first hard-court title.

Top 200 shattered ?

After winning the title in Champaign, Patrick Kypson reaches a new career high ranking! #ATPChallenger | @usta pic.twitter.com/tF9Q4ML6KR

The world’s best 21-and-under players will compete at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM in Jeddah next week, with Arthur Fils and Dominic Stricker leading the eight-man playing field.

Here is what you need to know ahead of the event in Saudi Arabia.

When is the 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals?

The 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals will be held from 28 November-2 December. The indoor hard-court event, established in 2017, will take place at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah. The tournament director is Adam Hogg. 

What is the format & who is playing at the 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals?

The event in Jeddah will see eight 21-and-under players divided into two groups of four, with the top two from each group advancing to the semi-finals. Matches are played best of five sets and first-to-four games. Arthur Fils, Dominic Stricker, Luca Van Assche, Flavio Cobolli, Alex Michelsen, Hamad Medjedovic, Luca Nardi and Abdullah Shelbayh are competing.

When is the draw for the Next Gen ATP Finals?

The Jeddah draw will be made on Saturday 25 November, time TBC.

What is the schedule for the Next Gen ATP Finals?

* Main Draw Round-Robin Matches: Tuesday 28 November – Thursday 30 November at 3: 00 p.m., second match n/b 4:00 p.m.. Evening sessions at 8:00 p.m., followed by second match.
* Semi-final One: Friday 1 December at 7:00 p.m.
* Semi-final Two: Friday 1 December n/b 9:00 p.m.
* Final: Saturday 2 December at 8:00 p.m.

View On Official Website

What is the prize money for the Next Gen ATP Finals Presented by Neom?

The prize money for the Next Gen ATP Finals Presented by Neom is $2,000,000.

Undefeated Champion: $514,000
Final Win: $153,000
Semi-Final Win: $113,500
Each Round-Robin Match Win: $32,500
Participation Fee: $150,000
Alternate: $15,000

How can I watch the Next Gen ATP Finals?

View TV Schedule

How can I follow the Next Gen ATP Finals Presented by Neom?

Hashtag: #NextGenATP
Facebook: Next Gen ATP Finals
Twitter: @nextgenfinals
Instagram: @nextgenfinals

Who won the last edition of the Next Gen ATP Finals Presented by Neom in 2022?

Brandon Nakashima won the 2022 singles title in Milan with a 4-3(5), 4-3(6), 4-2 victory against Jiri Lehecka in the championship match (Read & Watch).

Who holds the Next Gen ATP Finals record for most titles, oldest champion, youngest champion and more?

Most Titles, Singles: Hyeon Chung (1), Stefanos Tsitsipas (1), Jannik Sinner (1), Carlos Alcaraz (1), Brandon Nakashima (1)
Oldest Champion: Hyeon Chung, 21, in 2017, Brandon Nakashima, 21, in 2022
Youngest Champion: Jannik Sinner, 18, in 2019, Carlos Alcaraz, 18, in 2021
Highest-Ranked Champion: No. 15 Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2018
Lowest-Ranked Champion: No. 95 Jannik Sinner in 2019
Last Home Champion: Jannik Sinner in 2019
Most Match Wins: Alex de Minaur (8)

View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown

Alex Michelsen, Hamad Medjedovic and Luca Nardi have qualified for the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM, to be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from 28 November-2 December.

The trio will join Arthur Fils, Dominic Stricker, Luca Van Assche, Flavio Cobolli and wild card Abdullah Shelbayh, who sealed their spots earlier this month. The eight-man field for the 21-and-under event is set.

American Michelsen has enjoyed a standout year, winning two ATP Challenger Tour titles and advancing to his first tour-level final in Newport. The 19-year-old, who broke into the Top 100 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings earlier in November, turned professional in July.

Medjedovic has risen steadily in 2023 under the guidance of coach Viktor Troicki. The 20-year-old lifted three Challenger Tour trophies in 2023 and reached tour-level semi-finals in Gstaad and Astana. The Serbian will make his debut at the 21-and-under event in Jeddah.

Nardi has secured the final qualification spot. The Italian, who was an alternate at the event last year, finished the season strongly to seal his place, winning a Challenger Tour event in Matsuyama, Japan, before advancing to the semi-finals in Kobe.

Novak Djokovic today begins a record-extending 400th week as No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, more than 12 years after he first rose to the top.

Djokovic, who clinched ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by Pepperstone for a record eighth time during the Nitto ATP Finals, claimed a record-breaking seventh season finale title Sunday in Turin to welcome in his 400th week at the top in style.

"It's a pretty good achievement, 400 weeks at No. 1. It's never been done in history. Someone will eventually break it, but hopefully it stays there for a long time," Djokovic said. 

THE ROAD TO 400...

No. 1 Reign	Weeks
4 July 2011-8 July 2012	53
5 Nov. 2012-6 Oct. 2013	48
7 July 2014-6 Nov. 2016	122
5 Nov. 2018-3 Nov. 2019	52
3 Feb. 2020-27 Feb. 2022	86
21 Mar. 2022-12 June 2022	12
30 Jan. 2023-19 Mar. 2023	7
3 Apr. 2023-21 May 2023	7
12 June 2023-25 June 2023	2
11 Sept. 2023-20 Nov. 2023-current	11
TOTAL	400

In February, Djokovic broke Stefanie Graf's record of 377 weeks to become the all-time men's and women's leader, having passed Roger Federer's 310-week mark in 2021 for most weeks at No. 1 by a man.