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Sakamoto, 19, secures Challenger title at home

  • Posted: Nov 24, 2025

Japan’s Rei Sakamoto finished his season in style Sunday when he claimed an ATP Challenger Tour title on home soil. The 19-year-old triumphed at the YOKOHAMA KEIO CHALLENGER by MITA KOSAN and became the first Japanese teenager to win three Challenger titles.

Seeded second, Sakamoto rallied from a set down in his final three matches of the week. He fought off his elder countryman Kaichi Uchida 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 in a two-hour, 15-minute championship match.

“I had lots of ups and downs this year, but fought hard at the end,” Sakamoto wrote in an Instagram post reflecting on his 2025 season. “Appreciate all the support from everybody around me. Can’t wait for the offseason and what 2026 will bring to us!!”

Sakamoto, 10th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, won two Challenger trophies this year, with his previous triumph coming in Cary, North Carolina.

Former No. 4 Kei Nishikori was also competing in Yokohama, where he reached the quarter-finals before falling to Uchida. Nishikori was in action for the first time since the Cincinnati Open.

Maestrelli crowned champion in Bergamo
Italian Francesco Maestrelli won the 20th anniversary edition of the Internazionali di Bergamo, a tournament that stars such as Jannik Sinner, Matteo Berrettini, Holger Rune and Jack Draper have previously won.

<img alt=”Francesco Maestrelli wins the Bergamo Challenger.” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/11/24/14/10/maestrelli-bergamoch-2025.jpg?w=100%25″ />
Francesco Maestrelli wins the Bergamo Challenger, which was celebrating its 20th anniversary. Credit: Antonio Milesi

The 22-year-old Maestrelli overcame German Marko Topo 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in the final and is now at a career-high No. 138 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

Vallejo, 21, reaches career high after Guayaquil title 
Paraguay’s Adolfo Daniel Vallejo is also at a career-high following his latest victory. The 21-year-old captured the Challenger Ciudad de Guayaquil, where he escaped Juan Pablo Varillas 7-5, 6-7(7), 6-3 in a marathon two-hour, 59-minute final. Vallejo is now No. 143 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

<img alt=”Adolfo Daniel Vallejo in action at the Guayaquil Challenger.” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/11/24/14/13/vallejo-guayaquilch-2025.jpg” />
Adolfo Daniel Vallejo in action at the Guayaquil Challenger. Credit: Challenger Ciudad de Guayaquil

Heide wins at home in Brazil without dropping a set
Brazilian Gustavo Heide capped a dominant week on home soil at the ENGIE Open in Florianopolis. The 23-year-old secured his second Challenger crown and first of this season with a 6-2, 6-3 final victory against Argentine Andrea Collarini. Heide’s first Challenger title run came last year in Asuncion, where he beat countryman Joao Fonseca in the championship match.

<img alt=”Gustavo Heide celebrates winning the Florianopolis Challenger.” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/11/24/14/17/heide-florianopolisch-2025.jpg” />
Gustavo Heide celebrates winning the Florianopolis Challenger. Credit: Luz Press Luiz Candido

Duckworth ties active title record at Challenger level
James Duckworth lifted his 17th Challenger trophy, tying Facundo Bagnis for the most titles among active players at that level. Duckworth did not drop a set all week at the NSW Open in Sydney, finishing the tournament with a 6-1, 6-4 win against 20-year-old Hayato Matsuoka.

<img alt=”James Duckworth during the Sydney Challenger final.” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/11/24/14/21/duckworth-sydneych-2025.jpg” />
James Duckworth during the Sydney Challenger final. Credit: Jake Lim/Tennis Australia

Former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt came out of retirement in Sydney to partner his 16-year-old son Cruz Hewitt in the doubles field. Lleyton and Cruz won their opening-round match before falling in the quarter-finals. Cruz also competed in the singles main draw and earned his second match win at that level.

Kolar captures second title of 2025
Czech Zdenek Kolar returned to the winner’s circle for the second time this year. The 29-year-old won the III Challenger Montemar ENE Construccion in Montemar, Spain, where he beat Gianluca Cadenasso 6-4, 6-4 in the final.

Samuel, former college standout, earns maiden Challenger trophy
Former University of South Carolina star Toby Samuel claimed his maiden Challenger crown in Soma Bay, Egypt. The 23-year-old Briton survived countryman Jay Clarke 4-6 7-6(4) 6-0 in the final. Samuel is now at a career-high No. 329 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

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Rivalries of 2025: Alcaraz vs. Sinner

  • Posted: Nov 24, 2025

To mark the end of another thrilling season, ATPTour.com is unveiling our annual ‘Best Of’ series, which will reflect on the most intriguing rivalries, matches, comebacks, upsets and more. This week, we are looking at the best rivalries of the year.

The Carlos Alcaraz versus Jannik Sinner rivalry has quickly turned into must-watch TV not just for tennis fans, but for sports enthusiasts, offering a genuine ‘expect the unexpected’ experience. They met six times in 2025, with Alcaraz winning on four occasions to extend his Lexus ATP Head2Head lead to 10-6 against the Italian.

ATPTour.com recaps their six clashes from this season.

Rome Final, Alcaraz d. Sinner 7-6(5), 6-1
With Sinner aiming to become the first male Italian champion in Rome since 1976 (Adriano Panatta), Alcaraz crashed the party in a pulsating showdown at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

Sinner, playing his first event since lifting the Australian Open trophy, looked poised to seize the opening set when he held two set points on return at 6-5, but a forehand unforced error and a mistimed backhand left the door ajar.

Alcaraz weathered the storm and found his best tennis of the tournament to snap Sinner’s 26-match winning streak and capture his maiden Rome trophy. The Spaniard used his slice serve on the Deuce-side to great effect and struck 19 winners compared to Sinner’s seven. It was a hard-fought victory to earn another win in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Sinner.

“He has that aura,” Alcaraz said of Sinner. “When you’re seeing him on the other side of the net, it’s different. That’s why obviously I’m feeling that the people are putting so much, — how can I say — pressure in a certain way to both of us when we are facing each other.”

Roland Garros Final, Alcaraz d. Sinner 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(10-2)
Alcaraz delivered a comeback for the ages on Court Philippe-Chatrier, clawing back from two sets down and saving three championship points to stun Sinner in the longest men’s final in Roland Garros history. The five-hour, 29-minute epic had pundits debating its place among the greatest matches ever.

Facing three consecutive championship points at 3‑5, 0/40 in the fourth set, Alcaraz summoned every ounce of grit to somehow hold serve before breaking Sinner in the next game to flip the match on its head.

With the crowd’s deafening roar echoing into the Paris night, Alcaraz showed his resolve once more in the final set. After failing to serve out the match at 5-4, he regrouped for one final, and decisive, push. In the first Roland Garros final decided by a fifth-set tie-break, Alcaraz delivered a flawless performance when it mattered most, becoming the third man in the Open Era to save championship point (Novak Djokovic, Gaston Gaudio) at a major and go on to lift the title.

Many will remember the fifth-set tie-break, during which Alcaraz was nearly at his peak, crushing winner after winner, including a screaming forehand pass to clinch the Coupe des Mousquetaires.

“I think the real champions are made in situations when you deal with that pressure, with those situations, in the best way possible,” Alcaraz reflected.

<img alt=”Carlos Alcaraz” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/06/08/19/14/alcaraz-roland-garros-2025-final-celebration.jpg” />
Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Wimbledon Final, Sinner d. Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
Five weeks after his Roland Garros heartbreak, Sinner made a triumphant comeback to down two-time defending champion Alcaraz in four sets and claim his maiden Wimbledon title.

At the All England Club, many eyes were on how Sinner would respond to such a devastating defeat to his greatest rival. After dropping four games from 4-2 in the opening set, the Italian rallied with steely determination to hand Alcaraz his first loss in a major final.

Sinner, despite five consecutive losses to Alcaraz at the time, went with a bold approach. The longer the rally, the harder he pummelled the ball, without dropping in consistency. Sinner took big cuts on return to apply pressure on Alcaraz while holding his ground with hefty serving. The final set was a Sinner masterclass of grass-court tennis. He dropped just one point behind his first delivery and converted all nine of his net points to be crowned champion.

“It’s mostly emotional, because I had a very tough loss in Paris,” Sinner said during the trophy ceremony. “But at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter how you win or how you lose at important tournaments, you just have to understand what you did wrong and try to work on that, and that’s exactly what we did. We tried to accept the loss and just kept working. This is for sure one of the reasons I am holding this trophy here.”

Cincinnati Final, Alcaraz d. Sinner 5-0 [ret.]
A highly anticipated final at August’s Cincinnati Open featured an abrupt ending. In the early stages, Sinner appeared out of sorts, looking physically drained in the sweltering heat. The Italian called for the doctor after falling behind 0-5. Unable to continue, Sinner retired after just 23 minutes of action.

“From yesterday I didn’t feel great,” Sinner said while apologising to fans. “I thought that I would improve during the night, but it came up worse. I tried to come out, tried to make it at least a small match, but I couldn’t handle more.”

Alcaraz, who consoled the ailing Sinner after they shook hands, claimed his first Cincinnati crown and his eighth ATP Masters 1000 title, the most of any active player besides Novak Djokovic (40). Alcaraz had been seeking redemption in Cincinnati, where in 2023 he let slip championship point against Djokovic in one of the most thrilling finals in Masters 1000 history.

“Since I lost that final in 2023, I wanted this trophy really, really badly,” said Alcaraz. “I’m just really proud and happy to be able to lift it.”

US Open Final, Alcaraz d. Sinner 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
Each of Alcaraz and Sinner’s six meetings this season came in finals, and the next title clash between the two rivals’ came at the US Open. In a high-stakes encounter, Alcaraz not only denied Sinner’s title defence at Flushing Meadows, but also replaced Sinner as World No. 1, ending the Italian’s 65-week debut reign.

A confident Alcaraz unleashed ferocious hitting from both wings and doubled the number of winners as Sinner (42 to 21). The Spaniard dictated many of the rallies and never loosened his grip behind his serve, dropping just nine points behind his first delivery in a clinical performance. Alcaraz’s coach Juan Carlos Ferrero later described his charge’s showing as “perfect”, a verdict the now-six-time major champion Alcaraz echoed.

“He always wants me to play at my best, and not too many times I would say he’s said that, that I played perfectly. So for me, it’s a great win,” Alcaraz said. “But, yeah, he’s right. I think I played perfect. I played perfectly.”

This year marked the second consecutive season in which Alcaraz and Sinner split the four Slams, meaning that they have combined to triumph at eight straight majors.

“I think we push each other to the limit every time,” Alcaraz said of his rivalry with Sinner. “My practices are just focused to see how I can be better just to beat Jannik. So I think the rivalry is special, splitting Grand Slams, fighting for great things.”

Nitto ATP Finals Championship Match, Sinner d. Alcaraz 7-6(4), 7-5
A season of twin supremacy deserved nothing less than a final act on the sport’s most electric indoor stage, the Nitto ATP Finals. Under the lights, in a crackling Turin atmosphere, Sinner delivered red-line tennis from first ball to last.

Sinner’s biggest weapon was his serve. Having made some technical tweaks to his serve post-US Open, the Italian’s adjustments proved effective. In a tight opening set, Sinner erased a set point with an ice-cold 117mph second serve. Boasting pinpoint accuracy all week, during which he did not drop a set, Sinner gave Alcaraz little to no breathing room behind his revamped delivery. Sinner won 84 per cent of his first-serve points against Alcaraz to finish the week with a perfect 5-0 record and a record $5,071,000 champion’s payout.

“You have control over one shot in tennis, and that is the serve,” said Sinner’s coach Darren Cahill. “Jannik and Simone [Vagnozzi] have done some incredible work over the last four or five weeks to rejig the serve and find that rhythm and tempo where he has been able to up the first-serve percentage.”

Sinner reflected on his final match of the season: “I feel I am a better player than last year, I think this is the most important. It’s all part of the process. I always say and believe that if you keep working and trying to be a better player, the results, they’re going to come. This year it was like this.”

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Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF: Tournament-record prize money

  • Posted: Nov 24, 2025

The 2025 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF will award a tournament-record $2,101,250 million in prize money at the 20-and-under event, which will be played in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from 17-21 December.

If the champion at this year’s tournament lifts the trophy with an undefeated record, he will earn $539,750.

Three matches at this year’s Next Gen ATP Finals will be worth more than $100,000. Each semi-final victory will be worth $116,000 and the championship match will yield the winner $157,250. The participation fee for each player at the event is $154,000.

It All Adds Up

Prize Money

Alternate $15,000 
Participation Fee $154,000
Round-Robin Match Win $37,500
Semi-Final Win  $116,000
Final Win $157,250
Undefeated Champion $539,750
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Italy win historic third consecutive Davis Cup title

  • Posted: Nov 23, 2025

Matteo Berrettini and Flavio Cobolli guided Italy to a historic third consecutive Davis Cup title on Sunday when they earned victories in front of a raucous crowd in Bologna against Spain.

In the opening match of the tie, Berrettini produced a flawless display to down Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-4 to give his nation the perfect start. Cobolli then recovered from dropping seven of the first eight games in his match against Jaume Munar to earn a 1-6, 7-6(5), 7-5 win and send the Italian bench and the packed crowd in Bologna into wild celebration.

Italy also triumphed at the Davis Cup Finals in 2023 and 2024 in Malaga and is now the first country since the United States (1968-1972) to win three consecutive titles.

Berrettini ensured Italy made the perfect start in Sunday’s final by delivering an impressive performance on serve. The 29-year-old fired 13 aces and did not face a break point, according to Infosys ATP Stats, en route to his 79-minute win. The No. 56 player in the PIF ATP Rankings has won his past 11 Davis Cup matches, dating back to 2022.

It All Adds Up

With the hopes of Italy then on Cobolli, the 23-year-old demonstrated an abundance of grit to rally after a slow start against Munar. After losing the first set and dropping his serve immediately at the start of the second, Cobolli crucially broke back to level at 1-1. He then converted on his seventh set point of the second set to force a decider and found the key breakthrough in the 11th game of the third set. Cobolli enjoyed a memorable week on home soil, having saved seven match points in his win against Belgium’s Zizou Bergs in the semi-finals.

Spain was competing in the Davis Cup Finals title match for the first time since triumphing in 2019. The former champion defeated Germany and Czechia en route to the final.

Did You Know?
Italy has become the first non Grand Slam nation to win the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup titles in the same season on multiple occasions, following the United States and Australia. This week, Italy did it without the services of Top 10 stars Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti.

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Granollers/Martinez send Spain to title match at Davis Cup Finals

  • Posted: Nov 22, 2025

Marcel Granollers and Pedro Martinez sent Spain to the title match at the Davis Cup Finals on Saturday, when they earned a hard-fought 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 deciding doubles rubber win against Germany’s Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz.

Earlier, Alexander Zverev had levelled the tie for Germany in Bologna with a 7-6(2) 7-6(5) victory against Jaume Munar after Pablo Carreno Busta had beaten Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4 7-6(6) to give Spain the lead.

With the doubles left to decide the semi-final tie, Granollers and Martinez stepped up to send Spain through. They crucially saved one break point when serving for the match at 5-3, 30/40 in the third set, earning victory on their first match point to spark jubilant scenes of celebration among the Spanish team.

In the first match of the day, Carreno Busta saved five consecutive set points in the second set against Struff, rallying from 1/6 behind in the tie-break to give his nation the lead after one hour and 46 minutes.

It All Adds Up

The No. 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings Zverev clubbed 32 winners, including 13 aces, past Munar but ultimately his victory was in vain. Zverev ends his season holding a 57-25 record, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

Spain is in its first Davis Cup final since lifting the trophy in 2019. The former champion will play two-time defending champion Italy in Sunday’s final.

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Celebrating Ivan Dodig's retirement: 'I always gave everything'

  • Posted: Nov 21, 2025

On 6 February 2011, Ivan Dodig hit an ace to defeat Michael Berrer and claim his first ATP Tour singles title in front of his home fans in Zagreb. Or so the Croatian thought.

Dodig threw his racquet into the crowd and walked up to the net thinking the match was over. Chair umpire Cedric Mourier, now an ATP Supervisor, told the righty it had been a let.

“I was like, ‘No way’. I could not believe it,” Dodig told ATPTour.com. “It was a hectic situation because I threw the racquet and I needed to ask the guy to please give me back the racquet. I lost the next point, and it was Deuce. Somehow, I managed to finish the match. I was lucky. I always was thinking about it. Imagine that I lost that match, it would have been a disaster.”

Instead, Dodig closed out a 6-3, 6-4 victory for his lone tour-level singles trophy and in the 15 years since has crafted a memorable career in singles and doubles. The proud 40-year-old, who reached No. 29 in the PIF ATP Rankings, No. 2 in the PIF ATP Doubles Rankings and won 24 tour-level doubles titles, has retired.

“In the beginning of the year, I was considering my options. And then through the year, after a couple of months, I already decided and the people close to me knew it would be my last year,” Dodig said. “But I didn’t put so much attention into that, and now at the end, in the past couple of months, I decided and finally started to share the good friends that this would be my last year.”

Having accomplished a lot in his career in both singles and doubles, Dodig simply felt that it was a good time to hang up his racquet.

“Usually players break Top 100 at the age 20, 21. I broke Top 100 [when I was] almost 24. But after that, I stayed there for a long time, for 15, 16 years,” Dodig said. “I achieved a lot of things, and played so much tennis in singles and doubles. So it’s a quite long career for me, and I’m really happy about it and really had a good time all these years.”

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Dodig is from Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the same small town as former World No. 3 Marin Cilic. Dodig is nearly four years older than Cilic, but they grew up together and are best friends.

Their town is known more for religious pilgrimages than athletics. When Dodig and Cilic were growing up, the only tennis player they could watch on television was Goran Ivanisevic.

“That’s how we all [fell] in love with tennis and we started to dream,” Dodig recalled.

Cilic moved to Zagreb at an early age to chase his dreams and later trained under the tutelage of Bob Brett. He reached great heights in the sport, winning a major title at the 2014 US Open, but never let slip his relationship with Dodig. They even won the silver medal together in men’s doubles at the Tokyo Olympics.

“We have to be proud. It’s a special story and a special gift. We got from the beginning to the end and [spent] a lot of time sitting together talking about it,” Dodig said. “It’s special and not so many people know, but the journey we have was different from so many others and we’re proud of that. We motivated so many kids around here, around this region, to play tennis. And even now to see so many kids playing tennis because of us, it’s a great thing.”

 
 
 
 
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The same year he triumphed in Zagreb, Dodig stunned then-World No. 2 Rafael Nadal 1-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(5) at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Canada. The Croatian also earned multiple wins against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Milos Raonic and Cilic, and beat the likes of Kei Nishikori.

“I had a great career in singles, I have to admit,” Dodig said. “So many good wins, great memories.”

Throughout his singles career, Dodig excelled in doubles. Eventually, his back began to trouble him and he played his final tour-level singles match in July 2017, transitioning to doubles.

The Croatian won three men’s doubles majors, claiming glory at Roland Garros in 2015 with Marcelo Melo, at the 2021 Australian Open with Filip Polasek and at 2023 Roland Garros with Austin Krajicek. Dodig won six Masters 1000 titles and competed in the Nitto ATP Finals nine times with four different partners: Melo, Marcel Granollers, Polasek and Krajicek.

“I think I made a great, great decision at that time,” Dodig said. “I extended my career for another seven, eight years in doubles and enjoyed amazing success in doubles with great partners.”

Krajicek, with whom Dodig won Year-End ATP Doubles No. 1 presented by PIF honours in 2023, said: “What a tremendous career he’s had. He’s been someone that I’ve looked up to for a long time, and obviously I have a tremendous amount of respect for him. [It has been a privilege] to be a small part of his journey and play alongside him and really get to feel like he’s almost family to me. We had a great time playing together and had a lot of success. It’s awesome to see someone like Ivan, who’s been such a a role model for so many young guys coming into the sport, and to uphold such a high standard of work ethic and grit his whole career has been really fun to watch. I always had a tremendous amount of respect for Ivan and of course wish him nothing but the best moving forward.”

For Dodig’s part, the 40-year-old hopes he has made a difference for the next generation.

“I hope that through my sports career that I motivated some kids to find a way and to search for their dreams. Hopefully they can also look to achieve their dreams and if I motivated them a little bit, I’m very proud and happy,” Dodig said. “I always gave everything on the tennis court — for myself, for my family, for the community and for the people who love tennis and will try to be professional. I gave everything into it and I’m very happy and satisfied.”

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Heroic Cobolli saves 7 MPs, sends Italy past Belgium into third straight Davis Cup final

  • Posted: Nov 21, 2025

Flavio Cobolli and Matteo Berrettini propelled Italy into its third straight Davis Cup final on Friday in Bologna, where Cobolli delivered a show-stopping performance to close out a 2-0 victory over Belgium.

After Berrettini had given Italy the early advantage with a composed 6-3, 6-4 win over Raphael Collignon, Cobolli turned the evening into a spectacle inside the SuperTennis Arena. The 23-year-old survived seven match points in a nerve-shredding 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-6(15) victory against Zizou Bergs that sent the home fans into a frenzy.

“It’s really tough to say something about this match,” Cobolli said. “We fought for our country, for this win, but in the end I realised my dream. We are in the final now… I played for all of my team, my family, and it’s one of the best days of my life.”

Cobolli ripped his shirt to shreds in celebration after winning a marathon deciding-set tie-break — featuring all seven match-point saves — that sent two-time defending champions Italy through and avenged his lone Davis Cup defeat, inflicted by Bergs during last year’s round-robin stage. He now leads the Belgian 2-1 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

Berrettini, the former No. 6 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, earned his his seventh consecutive singles win at the event, building on his pivotal role in Italy’s title-winning campaign last year. They are now the first country to reach three consecutive finals since Australia in 2001.

Italy awaits the winner of Saturday’s semi-final clash between Spain and Germany, both of whom reached this stage after winning crucial doubles deciders. Riding a 13-tie winning streak, Italy is aiming to become the first country to win three consecutive Davis Cup titles since USA in 1971.

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