The 2025 Next Gen ATP Finals: The field, fun facts and where to watch

The Next Gen ATP Finals kicks off its eighth edition on Wednesday in Jeddah, with a new champion set to be crowned.

The tournament, which brings eight of the top 20-and-under players together, uses a best-of-five set format—though it takes just four games to win a set. This competitive tweak is one of many the event employs to help innovate the sport further, and a round-robin schedule is played out to determine the semifinalists.

This year’s field features six newcomers, with 2024 runner-up Learner Tien and his countryman Nishesh Basavareddy returning. Six countries are represented, with Spain joining the U.S. in boasting two qualifiers.

🖥️📲 Stream the Next Gen ATP Finals on the Tennis Channel App!

Did You Know...

• Learner Tien is ranked 87 spots above the next-highest player and holds bragging rights as the lone entrant to earn an inaugural ATP title this season (indoors at Metz) and main-draw wins on the Grand Slam stage.
• Alexander Blockx qualified at three of the fourth North American ATP Masters 1000 events, ultimately picking up his maiden tour-level win at the Cincinnati Open (d. Giron)
• Dino Prizmic put together 14 straight victories on the ATP Challenger Tour in a run that yielded titles in Zagreb and Bratislava, ahead of a Milan runner-up finish.
• Martin Landaluce went 3-0 against fellow Blue Group player Budkov Kjaer this year in Challenger clashes, including en route to winning Orleans.
• Nicolai Budkov Kjaer captured a co-leading four Challenger Tour trophies in 2025, including two on indoor hard courts, to jump from outside the Top 500 to inside the Top 140.
• Rafael Jodar is the current world No. 168, a 743-spot improvement of the ranking he held during his 2025 debut on April 1 at the Morelos Challenger.
• Nishesh Basavareddy reached his first tour-level semifinal as a qualifier in Auckland and later cracked the Top 100 for the first time in June (only Tien has gone higher).
• Justin Engel, the lone 2007-born player in the field, became the second-youngest player since 1990 (after Rafael Nadal) to earn tour-level wins on three different surfaces.

Twelve months ago, Joao Fonseca stepped into the winner’s circle as the No. 8 seed. Five of this year’s hopefuls come in ranked higher than the Brazilian, who at No. 145 is the lowest-ranked Next Gen ATP Finals champion to date. Fonseca and this year’s Miami Open title holder Jakub Mensik withdrew prior to the event, opening the door for Tien to lead the class.

The top seed, No. 6 seed and No. 8 seeded positions have all sent through two eventual champions, with the No. 4 seed rounding out the past winners. When Stefanos Tsitsipas (2018) and Carlos Alcaraz (2021) completed their title runs as top seeds, both involved denying No. 2 seeded rivals in the championship match.

The 2025 Next Gen ATP Finals groups

Blue Group

1. Learner Tien

4. Martin Landaluce

5. Nicolai Budkov Kjaer

7. Rafael Jodar

Red Group

2. Alexander Blockx

3. Dino Prizmic

6. Nishesh Basavareddy

8. Justin Engel

Action kicks off at 6 a.m. ET Wednesday with Prizmic taking on Basavareddy. Blockx and Engel will follow, ahead of the Blue Group’s evening session slate of matches.

📅 Order of Play: Wednesday. Dec. 17

(3) Dino Prizmic vs. (6) Nishesh Basavareddy
— Start: 2:00 PM local (6:00 AM ET)

(2) Alexander Blockx vs. (8) Justin Engel
— Not before: 3:00 PM local (7:00 AM ET)

(1) Learner Tien vs. (7) Rafael Jodar
— Not before: 7:00 PM local (11:00 AM ET)

(4) Martin Landaluce vs. (5) Nicolai Budkov Kjaer
— Estimated start: 8:10 PM local (12:10 PM ET)