From rules to the ruling class, the Next Gen ATP Finals continue to foreshadow the future

London, November 2016. Chris Kermode, then ATP Executive Chairman & President, steps onto the stage during the ATP Finals and unveils a bold new project.

“The world’s top eight 20-and-under singles players will compete in a special season finale,” he announces—a tournament designed to spotlight the future of men’s tennis at a moment of historic transition.

“Everybody in the sport has promoted heavily the Big Four for the last 10 years,” Kermode explained. “What we need to do as the ATP is market many more players to a wider audience. We’re at almost a changing of the guard.”

The new event, the Next Gen ATP Finals, also emerged as a spiritual successor to the discontinued ATP Challenger Tour Finals once held in São Paulo, Brazil.

“The Challenger Finals was a good idea. It never established roots,” Kermode said. “This is a blend of that idea—and I think it will be hugely successful because it has other elements.”

A testing ground that changed tennis

When Milan hosted the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in 2017, the ATP rolled out a bold package of rule changes, 10 in all:

• a shorter warm-up
• Hawk-Eye Live in place of line judges
• on-court coaching via headset at the end of each set
• the no-let rule
• a limit of one medical time-out per match
• the 25-second shot clock
• singles-only court markings
• open fan movement around the stadium
• shorter sets played best-of-five to four games
• no-ad scoring

Several of these innovations have since been adopted on the ATP Tour, yet the Next Gen Finals remain the sport’s main playground for experimentation.

The champions’ roll has turned into a who’s who of modern tennis progression: Hyeon Chung lifted the very first trophy in Milan, followed by Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz (perhaps you’ve heard of them), Brandon Nakashima, Hamad Medjedovic and, most recently, Joao Fonseca.

A new chapter: Jeddah’s final edition and the road to 2025

Since 2023, the event has been staged in Jeddah, and the upcoming edition will mark the final time the rising stars compete in Saudi Arabia. This year’s field of contenders illustrates just how global and competitive the next generation has become.

Leading the current Race to Jeddah is 20-year-old Czech Jakub Mensik, who broke through spectacularly by claiming his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Miami. Close behind is Brazil’s teenager Joao Fonseca, already a two-time ATP champion this season with titles in Basel and Buenos Aires. Nineteen-year-old American Learner Tien has surged after capturing his first ATP Tour trophy at the Moselle Open in Metz, while 20-year-old Belgian Alexander Blockx has strengthened his bid with Challenger triumphs in Oeiras and Bratislava.

Not far behind, Croatia’s Dino Prizmic, 20, boosts his case thanks to Challenger titles in Bratislava and Zagreb, with 19-year-old Spaniard Martin Landaluce also in the mix following a victory in Orléans. Norway’s powerful emerging force Nicolai Budkov Kjaer, 19, has secured an impressive four Challenger trophies this year across Glasgow, Tampere, Astana and Mouilleron-Le-Captif, while Nishesh Basavareddy from the United States adds weight to his campaign after reaching the ATP 250 semifinals in Auckland.

Also pushing hard are 19-year-old Rafael Jodar of Spain, with three Challenger titles in Hersonissos, Lincoln and Charlottesville, and 18-year-old German Justin Engel, who reached the Boss Open quarterfinals in Stuttgart and claimed his maiden ATP Challenger title on home soil in Hamburg.

Together, they represent precisely what Kermode envisioned in 2016: a fresh wave of talent ready to challenge the established stars and shape the sport’s future.