Tennis News

Prizmic stamps ticket at Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF

Dino Prizmic will make his debut at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF after stamping his ticket following a productive season.

The Croatian started playing tennis at Tenis Klub Split, where Goran Ivanisevic and Mario Ancic also learned the game. Having balanced the sport with his other passion, football, Prizmic started to take his tennis more seriously at 14 and moved to the capital city Zagreb, where there were more players to train with.

After winning the Roland Garros Boys’ singles title and an ATP Challenger Tour title in 2023, Prizmic made his first wave on the ATP Tour in January last year when he won a set against Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open.

After an injury-plagued 2024, the 20-year-old returned to fitness and form in 2025. He won two ATP Challenger Tour crowns in the space of a month during the European summer, triumphing on clay in Zagreb and Bratislava, respectively.

Those mid-season successes left Prizmic well placed in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah and he further boosted his qualification chances with a quarter-final run on home soil at the ATP 250 event in Umag. Prizmic would go on to qualify for the US Open and earn a tour-level win in Chengdu. He will now end the year in Jeddah.

“I am really excited to qualify for Jeddah,” Prizmic said. “This season was full of ups and downs but I am really happy with how the season has ended. See you in Jeddah.”

The 2025 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF will take place from 17-21 December. Former champions include Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. Jakub Mensik, Learner Tien and Alexander Blockx have also qualified for the 20-and-under event this year.

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Blockx set for Jeddah debut

Alexander Blockx has qualified for the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF for the first time. The 20-year-old will be the first Belgian player to compete at the 20-and-under event.

Blockx started the 2025 season on fire in Portugal, clinching an ATP Challenger Tour title in Oeiras, his second success at this level. He then qualified for the ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami before he enjoyed a run to the final at the Challenger Tour event in Winnipeg.

Blockx recorded his first win at an ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati, where he defeated Marcos Giron. The 20-year-old ended the season with another Challenger Tour crown in Bratislava and a tour-level victory in Metz.

Blockx started the year outside the Top 200 in the PIF ATP Rankings but has made steady progress, rising to a career-high No. 101 in November.

Born to Ukrainian parents who were both professional athletes, Blockx’s father, Oleg, was a track athlete specialising in hurdle races, while his mother, Natalia, was a swimmer. Despite this diverse sporting background, Blockx has never played any sport besides tennis.

Blockx is under the guidance of Philippe Cassiers, who has coached the rising star since the 6’4” Antwerp native was aged four. A highlight of their partnership came in 2023, when Blockx became the junior No. 1 in singles and doubles.

The 2025 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF will take place from 17-21 December. Former champions include Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

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Rivalries of 2025: Vacherot vs. Rinderknech

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.

Not even Hollywood could script what unfolded this season between Valentin Vacherot and Arthur Rinderknech.

They may be opponents on court, but Vacherot and Rinderknech are, more importantly, cousins. Their respective fairytale runs to a once-in-a-lifetime showdown in the Rolex Shanghai Masters final represented one of tennis’ most improbable recent storylines, while they also faced off again 17 days later at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Paris.

ATPTour.com recaps the unlikely saga.

Shanghai Final, Vacherot d. Rinderknech 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
It is safe to say nobody saw this final coming, including Vacherot and Rinderknech themselves. But against all odds, the cousins, who in 2018 both played at Texas A&M University, stood across the net for an ATP Masters 1000 title showdown in Shanghai. Vacherot was two points from defeat in qualifying at the Chinese event, yet managed to make the main draw and then went on to defeat five seeded players, including record four-time champion Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals.

Rinderknech also downed five seeds en route to the final. After the Frenchman secured his semi-final win against 2019 champion Daniil Medvedev, Vacherot came onto the court to greet Vacherot. They shared an emotional hug — laughing, smiling and even crying as they looked ahead to the championship clash.

It was Vacherot, then World No. 204, who capped his dream run by becoming the lowest-ranked ATP Masters 1000 champion in history (since 1990). Despite a strong start from Rinderknech, the Monegasque edged his cousin in by-then familiar fashion, rallying from a set down for the sixth time across his nine Shanghai matches.

“It was just some unreal moments for both of us, for our family,” said Vacherot, who was later in tears as he praised his cousin at the trophy ceremony. “Unfortunately, there was one winner. But our family won, and the sport of tennis won as well, because the story we just wrote is amazing. The emotions were just everywhere after the match.”

Paris R2, Vacherot d. Rinderknech 6-7(9), 6-3, 6-4
Less than three weeks after their Shanghai clash, Vacherot and Rinderknech encountered each other again at the Rolex Paris Masters, where they each received a main-draw wild card. Both players were also present at the live draw ceremony at La Défense Arena, where the bracket revealed the potential for a second-round meeting between the two cousins — another storyline that immediately caught the attention of fans and organisers alike.

This time, it was a second-round clash instead of a high-stakes final, but nonetheless, intrigue remained around the in-form family members. Across nearly three hours, Vacherot and Rinderknech engaged in several entertaining rallies and battled for court positioning. Rinderknech saved two set points to grab the opener, but Vacherot, brimming with the free-swinging confidence from his Shanghai run, came roaring back.

The difference was in the pressure moments. Vacherot fended off 11 of the 13 break points he faced against Rinderknech, while creating 11 of his own break opportunities and converting five, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

“I think what’s helping me is that I’m having so much fun. This is all new to me,” Vacherot, who went onto reach the Paris quarter-finals, told Tennis Channel after the win. “I’m playing on the big stage now. It’s not now when I should be feeling pressure. That’s where I want to be.”

<img alt=”Valentin Vacherot signs ‘I love my family’ after defeating Arthur Rinderknech in Paris.” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/11/20/15/22/vacherot-camer-lens.jpg” />
_{^{Valentin Vacherot signs ‘I love my family’ after defeating Arthur Rinderknech in Paris. Credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images}}

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How world's best are spearheading British doubles boom

Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool tell BBC Sport about finishing the year as the world’s top-ranked doubles pairing – and why British doubles is in such good shape.

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What is the 2026 ATP Tour calendar?

ATP has announced the 2026 ATP Tour calendar, featuring tournaments across 29 countries, in addition to the four Grand Slam events. Propelled by ATP’s OneVision strategy, the season is set to deliver an elevated fan experience and accelerated growth across the sport.

The 2026 ATP Tour season features:

• Nine ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, seven of which feature the enhanced 12-day format

• 16 ATP 500 events

• 29 ATP 250 events

• The sixth edition of the Nitto ATP Finals hosted in Italy and the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF.

• Team events: United Cup, held in partnership with WTA and Tennis Australia, Laver Cup and the Davis Cup.

View the full 2026 ATP Tour calendar below.

2026 ATP Tour calendar

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Former finalist Tien qualifies for Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF

Learner Tien will return to the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF. The 19-year-old American booked his spot after a standout first full season on Tour.

The lefty ended last year by reaching the title match in Jeddah and built on that success at the Australian Open, where he defeated Top 10 star Daniil Medvedev. Tien reached the fourth round in Melbourne to become the youngest player to reach that stage at the hard-court major since Rafael Nadal in 2005.

Tien then stunned Alexander Zverev at the ATP 500 event in Acapulco, where he enjoyed a quarter-final run. He also reached the fourth round at ATP Masters 1000 events in Toronto and Shanghai.

Tien’s best result came at the ATP 250 event in Metz this month, when he won his first tour-level title, defeating Cameron Norrie in the final. The American also tasted success at the ATP 500 event in Beijing, where he reached the championship match. Tien eliminated Lorenzo Musetti and Medvedev in China. He ended the season holding a 5-4 record against Top 10 players, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, and is at a career-high No. 28 in the PIF ATP Rankings, having started the year outside the Top 120.

The 2025 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF will take place from 17-21 December. Former champions include Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

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Draper, Fonseca among nominees for ATP Breakthrough of the Year

From unexpected ATP Masters 1000 champions to historic runs across the globe, the 2025 ATP Tour season featured several electrifying moments when rising talents seized their opportunity at the sport’s biggest tournaments.

For the first time, the 29 members of the exclusive ATP No. 1 Club will decide the winner of Breakthrough of the Year in the ATP Awards. ATPTour.com takes a look at the four nominees.

Jack Draper
The 23-year-old lefty played with newfound confidence and firepower to cement his place at the top of the game. In the first six months of the year, Draper went from No. 18 in the PIF ATP Rankings to a career-high No. 4, highlighted by his biggest career title at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells. The Briton, who enjoyed career-best runs at the Australian Open and Roland Garros by reaching the fourth round at both, also reached finals in Doha and Madrid, respectively.

Joao Fonseca
The Brazilian emerged as one of the most exciting young talents on Tour in 2025, backing up his triumph at the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF. At the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires in February, the then-18-year-old Fonseca became the youngest South American champion in the ATP Tour era (since 1990). Fonseca made more history in Basel in October, when he became the third-youngest ATP 500 champion in series history. Having started the season outside the Top 100, Fonseca finished the year at a career-high No. 24.

Jakub Mensik
Mensik lived out a childhood dream at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Miami. The Czech went on a surprise run and shocked Top 5 stars Taylor Fritz and Novak Djokovic in his final two matches of the tournament. “It was probably the biggest day of my life,” said Mensik after defeating his longtime idol Djokovic in the title match. Having started the year as the World No. 48, the rose as high as No. 16 in August.

Valentin Vacherot
The Monegasque lived the fairytale of all fairytales in Shanghai, where he was in the main draw as a No. 204-ranked qualifier with only one previous ATP Tour win, and then went on to make history as the lowest-ranked ATP Masters 1000 champion in history (since 1990). Vacherot, who beat his cousin Arthur Rinderknech in the final, earned 1,020 PIF ATP Ranking points in that tournament alone and skyrocketed to World No. 40. The 27-year-old built upon his momentum with a quarter-final run at the Rolex Paris Masters to reach a career-high World No. 30.

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Mensik becomes first player to qualify for Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, Fonseca withdraws

Jakub Mensik has qualified for the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF for the second time.

The 20-year-old made history earlier this season in Miami, where he stunned Novak Djokovic in the final to become the second-youngest titlist in tournament history behind Carlos Alcaraz. Mensik, 19 at the time, was just the fifth teen to defeat Djokovic on the ATP Tour.

In a standout year, the Czech jumped to a career-high No. 16 in the PIF ATP Rankings in August, while he earned four Top 10 wins in 2025, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. Mensik defeated Jack Draper, Taylor Fritz and Djokovic in Miami and eliminated Casper Ruud en route to the third round at the Australian Open.

Mensik enjoyed a quarter-final run in Madrid and advanced to the fourth round in Rome. He also reached the quarter-finals in Brisbane, Auckland, Eastbourne and Beijing.

Last year’s champion Joao Fonseca has withdrawn from the 2025 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF as he continues to recover from an injury sustained at the end of the 2025 ATP Tour season. We wish Joao the best in his recovery and in his preparations for the 2026 ATP Tour season.

The 2025 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF will take place from 17-21 December. Former champions include Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

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Rivalries of 2025: Alcaraz vs. Fritz

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.

Four Lexus ATP Head2Head clashes across 2025 cemented a budding rivalry between Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz. Having met just twice before this season, the duo this year battled at some of tennis’ biggest tournaments in captivating showdowns, from the Wimbledon semi-finals to the Nitto ATP Finals.

ATPTour.com recaps the four tour-level tussles between Alcaraz and Fritz this season.

Wimbledon SFs, Alcaraz d. Fritz 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(6)
The tension in Alcaraz and Fritz’s Wimbledon semi-final showdown reached its breaking point at the match’s climax. The Spaniard teetered on the brink of being forced to contest a fifth set when facing two set points at 4/6 in the fourth-set tie-break, but he rattled off four consecutive points to secure his spot in a third consecutive final at SW19.

Alcaraz was riding a 24-match winning streak heading into the match, while Fritz was fresh off nine straight victories, including a title run in Eastbourne across a standout grass-court season. The American was unable to extend that run on the All England Club’s Centre Court, however, as his wait for a maiden tour-level victory against Alcaraz went on.

The Spaniard dictated play from the baseline, peppering in precise drop shots and wielding a hefty second serve that kept Fritz constantly on the back foot. Alcaraz increased his level when it mattered most and pulled no punches in tight moments, such as when he surged forward to the net while Fritz threatened with his first set point in the fourth set. On his second set point at 6/5, the American was left to rue an inside-out forehand error.

<img alt=”Carlos Alcaraz” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/07/11/15/53/alcaraz-wimbledon-2025-friday2.jpg” />

^{_{Credit: Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images.}}

Laver Cup, Fritz d. Alcaraz 6-3, 6-2
Fritz finally cracked the code against Alcaraz, claiming his first Lexus ATP Head2Head win against the Spaniard in four attempts, with a comfortable victory for Team World at September’s Laver Cup in San Francisco.

The American was fearless in his approach, dictating baseline play at every turn and applying relentless pressure on Team Europe’s Alcaraz by converting 16 of his 20 net points. In the second set, Fritz pulled away by winning the final four games to seal a memorable victory. A pivotal moment came in the opening game of the match, when Fritz fended off the only two break points he faced for the entire match, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

“The three times I had played Carlos, he had broken me in the first game every time,” said Fritz. “Getting out of that first game was huge. I just made sure I didn’t second guess myself.”

Tokyo Final, Alcaraz d. Fritz 6-4, 6-4
Just nine days after their clash in San Francisco, Alcaraz and Fritz stood across the net again, this time at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo, where the World No. 1 exacted his revenge.

Alcaraz stamped his authority with trademark firepower and shotmaking in the title match at the hard-court ATP 500. He overwhelmed Fritz from all corners of the court and rarely let up in a 93-minute victory. Fritz took a medical timeout at the end of the first set to receive treatment on his left thigh, which was later strapped after three games of the second. Struggling to move efficiently, the American saw his chances of reclaiming the Tokyo crown, which he won in 2022, slip away.

“I’m really happy with the level that I played, with everything,” said Alcaraz, who rebounded from a left ankle injury scare in his first-round match to lift the trophy on Tokyo debut. “Starting the week not good with the ankle, and the way that I came back from that, I’m just really happy about it.”

Nitto ATP Finals Round Robin, Alcaraz d. Fritz 6-7(2), 7-5, 6-3
The two rivals saved arguably their best match of the season for last and the Nitto ATP Finals. A confident, heavy-hitting Fritz carried the momentum for much of the first 90 minutes and held two consecutive break points at 2-2 in the second set, having already taken a one-set lead. Then, the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings Alcaraz turned the tables in Turin.

The most pivotal moment came with Fritz holding his first break point of the second set. He had the upper hand in a thrilling 19-shot rally, but Alcaraz moved forward — similar to his tactic when down set point against Fritz in the Wimbledon semi-finals — to put away a backhand volley. Fritz had a chance for an overhead during that rally, but he elected to let the ball bounce, a decision he later admitted, “I probably should have sent it out of the air.” Alcaraz eventually held after 14 minutes, deflating Fritz’s chances of an upset.

Throughout the high quality tug-of-war match, Alcaraz and Fritz battled for baseline position, each taking risks on return and searching for their first opportunity to play offence. But in the end, Alcaraz went into lockdown mode with a squeaky-clean third-set performance to survive.

“I was really relieved after the win because of everything I went through during the match,” said Alcaraz. “I wasn’t feeling the ball as well as I was in the first [match], but I’m really happy that I found a way to come back.”

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On This Day: Sampras completes mad dash for record sixth straight year-end No. 1 finish

When Pete Sampras won his last professional match, beating Andre Agassi in the 2002 US Open final, he earned a record-extending 14th Grand Slam title and tied Jimmy Connors’ record of five US Open men’s singles crowns. The American also finished his career having spent 286 weeks at No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

Those marks seemed insurmountable at the time, but all three records were eventually matched or broken by the Big 3. Still, there is at least one Sampras record that has remained untouchable: His six consecutive year-end No. 1 finishes from 1993-98. Roger Federer achieved the feat four years in a row (2004-07) and Novak Djokovic did it in back-to-back years on three occasions, while Rafael Nadal never finished No. 1 in consecutive seasons.

“It’s an ultimate achievement. It will probably never be broken,” Sampras said of the milestone, which was confirmed on 26 November 1998. “I’m trying to stay humble through all this, but the record speaks for itself. It’s a little overwhelming.”

Across Sampras’ six-year reign, he was knocked off the summit six different times and repeatedly wrestled his way back to the top of the PIF ATP Rankings.

He was never pushed closer for the year-end honours than in 1998, when Marcelo Rios twice unseated him at No. 1 for a combined six weeks. Following a semi-final defeat to eventual champion Patrick Rafter at the US Open, Sampras held a narrow lead over the Chilean atop the PIF ATP Rankings. The final two months of the ATP Tour season would determine whether Sampras could break Connors’ record of five straight year-end No. 1 finishes.

In an all-out bid to hold off Rios, Sampras competed in seven ATP Tour events across October and November. Rios played six in his own mad dash for the finish line.

“It wasn’t fun, I’ll be honest with you,” Sampras said. “I had one chance to break this record, this all-time record of six years in a row. I was like, ‘Alright, if I’m going to have to be over here [in Europe] for another three or four weeks, I’ll do it.’ And I did it. 

“It felt great, but it definitely took a lot out of me emotionally, even the next few years. It’s very hard to stay No. 1, and to do it six years in a row… For me in my career, I look back at that — and I’ve won a lot of majors and I’ve done some great things — but staying No. 1 all those years I think was my biggest achievement, just to be dominant. And to not just stay No. 1 for six months or year, but to really cement that.”

Sampras’ 1998 run-in began with a first-round defeat in Basel before he crucially claimed his fourth title of the season the following week as a late wild card in Vienna, just as Rios lifted a trophy of his own in Singapore. (Sampras’ spot in Vienna came courtesy of Boris Becker, who offered his own wild card to the American.) Both men traveled to Lyon next but pulled out of the tournament as their bodies broke down; Sampras withdrew ahead of the quarter-finals with a back problem before Rios retired in his semi-final match against Tommy Haas.

Next up were two ATP Masters 1000s in Stuttgart and Paris. While Rios reached the quarter-finals at both, Sampras reached the semis and the final at the respective tournaments, padding his lead in the PIF ATP Rankings.

But Sampras stalled in Stockholm, where the mental toll of his late-season push was evident. After losing a first-set tie-break in an eventual three-set defeat to World No. 29 Jason Stoltenberg, the typically stoic American smashed his racquet in a rare outburst. 

“The European circuit in the fall is no picnic, even at the best of times,” Sampras wrote in his autobiography, “A Champion’s Mind”. “It’s cold, it gets dark early, and you’re playing night matches in massive arenas under artificial lights. At the end of the long, hard Grand Slam season, that ambience can leave you feeling like you’re living in some strange, parallel universe.”

However, the American’s opening-round exit in Stockholm had a silver lining: It afforded him two weeks off before the ATP World Tour Championships (now the Nitto ATP Finals), where year-end No. 1 honors would be decided.

Sampras entered the Hanover season finale with a slim lead of 33 points in the PIF ATP Rankings, meaning he needed to match or better Rios’ total at the year-end showcase to complete his No. 1 mission. With the pressure ratcheted up, Sampras rediscovered his peak form in the group stage, posting a 3-0 record and losing just 15 games in six sets against Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Carlos Moya and Karol Kucera.

While the American was beaten by eventual champion Alex Corretja in the semis — two years after Sampras’ epic 1996 US Open quarter-final win against the Spaniard, during which he famously threw up on the court — he had secured year-end No. 1 honours long before the knockout rounds. Rios, after losing to Tim Henman in his opening round-robin match, was forced to withdraw from the event with a back injury, confirming Sampras as No. 1. He was eating pasta in his hotel when he heard the news.

Sampras’ six consecutive year-end No. 1 finishes remain a PIF ATP Rankings record. Only Sampras and Djokovic, who has earned year-end No. 1 honours eight times, have achieved the feat more than five times in total.

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