The climax to the 2024 ATP Tour season arrives in November in the shape of the ATP Finals in Turin, live on Sky Sports Tennis.
Between November 10 and 17 the top eight men’s players in the world will face off in Italy, looking to end their seasons on a high.
Read below for all you need to know…
What is the format of the ATP Finals?
The ATP Finals has a round-robin format, with eight players divided into two groups of four. The eight seeds are determined by the ATP Race To Turin rankings on the Monday after the last ATP Tour tournament of the calendar year.
All singles matches are then the best of three tie-break sets, including the final.
The top-seeded players are placed in Group A and the second-seeded into Group B. Players seeded 3, 4 and 5 and 6, 7 and 8, are then drawn in pairs with the first drawn placed in Group A. Each player plays the three other players in his group.
The winner of each group (best overall record) is placed in separate semi-final brackets, with the top player in Group A playing the runner-up in Group B, and vice versa.
If two or more players are tied after the round robin matches, the ties are broken by the tie-break procedure, with the final standings of each group determined by the first of the following methods that apply: a) Greatest number of wins; b) Greatest number of matches played; c) Head-to-head results if only two players are tied; d) If three players are tied, a player having played less than all three matches is automatically eliminated; or ighest percentage of sets won; or Highest percentage of games won; or The player positions on the ATP Rankings.
Which players are qualified?
Three players have qualified already for the ATP Finals, with a little under two months to go.
Italy’s Jannik Sinner, Germany’s Alexander Zverev and Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz have already booked their spots at the prestigious year-end event.
Behind that trio, five spaces are left to be filled, with many stars aiming to gain points in Asia to boost their hopes.
The USA’s Taylor Fritz (3,890) is fifth in the ATP Live Race To Turin after he reached his maiden major final at the US Open, live on Sky Sports Tennis, and is now in strong contention to qualify to the ATP Finals for a second time after he reached the semi-finals in 2022.
Fourth-placed Daniil Medvedev (4,470), sixth-placed Casper Ruud (3,795) and seventh-placed Andrey Rublev (3,480) have all competed in Turin on more than one occasion, with Medvedev lifting the trophy in 2020.
Medvedev and Rublev will take the court at the ATP 500 in Beijing, with none of the Top 14 in the ATP Live Race To Turin in action at ATP 250 events in Chengdu and Hangzhou.
Australia’s Alex de Minaur (3,305) reached major quarter-finals at Wimbledon and the US Open in recent months but struggled with injuries during the latter stages of both Slams. He currently occupies the final qualification spot in eighth and is the only player in the Top 10 Live Race To Turin who has not competed at the ATP Finals previously.
De Minaur plays at the ATP 500 in Tokyo alongside Ruud and Fritz. Serbia’s Novak Djokovic (3,260) is just 45 points behind De Minaur in ninth place but is not returning to action until October, when he will aim to win his 100th tour-level title at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai.
Former champion Grigor Dimitrov (2,835), Tommy Paul (2,785), 2019 winner Stefanos Tsitsipas (2,735), Hubert Hurkacz (2,640) and Frances Tiafoe (2,460) all remain within sight of De Minaur but will need deep runs at several events.
Behind them are Lorenzo Musetti (2,415) and Holger Rune (2,235), and what of Britain’s Jack Draper (2095)? He currently sits in 17th and is a real outside shot of making the top eight at this stage.
Who is the defending champion?
In 2023, Novak Djokovic defeated home favourite Jannik Sinner at the ATP Finals in Turin to win the title for a record seventh time.
A ruthless Djokovic saw off Sinner in front of a passionate crowd, winning 6-3 6-3 to seal victory, after previously having lost to the Italian in the round-robin section of the competition.
The crowd tried their best to energise their man but Djokovic moved on towards victory as a Sinner double fault ended the contest. With victory, Djokovic moved past Roger Federer (six titles) to stand alone as the most successful player in the tournament’s history.
Where is it being hosted?
From 2021-2025, the ATP Finals will be held at Turin’s Inalpi Arena – Italy’s largest indoor sporting arena.
The tournament has been contested in major cities around the world, with a rich history dating back to the birth of The Masters in Tokyo (1970).
Between 2009 and 2020, the event was held in London at the O2 Arena.
Previous to that, it was hosted in Shanghai (2005-2008, 2002), Houston (2003-2004, 1976), Sydney (2001), Lisbon (2000), Hanover (1996-1999), Frankfurt (1990-1995), New York (1977-1989), Stockholm (1975), Melbourne (1974), Boston (1973), Barcelona (1972), Paris (1971), Tokyo (1970).
Which major events are left before it begins?
In terms of the major ATP events that are left before the final ATP Finals qualifiers are confirmed, the ATP 500 China Open and ATP 500 Japan Open finish in early October, before the ATP 1000 Shanghai Masters takes place October 2-13.
The final event is then the ATP 1000 Paris Masters between October 26-November 3.
What’s on Sky Sports Tennis in September?
Japan Open – ATP 500 (September 25-October 1)
China Open – ATP 500 (September 26-October 2)
China Open – WTA 1000 (September 25-October 6)
Sky Sports+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.
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