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Alcaraz clinches ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours

Carlos Alcaraz clinched ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours on Thursday when he defeated Lorenzo Musetti to move to 3-0 at the Nitto ATP Finals.

The Spaniard and rival Jannik Sinner arrived at the season finale battling for the prestigious honour, but Alcaraz finished the group stage undefeated to secure year-end No. 1 for the second time.

“It means the world to me, to be honest. The year-end No. 1 is always a goal,” Alcaraz said. “At the beginning of the year, I saw the No. 1 really, really far away [with] Jannik winning almost every tournament he plays. But from the middle of the season ’til now, I [gave myself] the goal for the No. 1 because I thought it was there. I had the chance to play great tennis in a lot of tournaments in a row to put myself in with a chance to be close to Jannik for the No. 1.

“Then in the last three, four tournaments of the year, [I was] fighting toe to toe with Jannik for this spot and then finally I got it. For me, it means everything.”

It has been a memorable year for the 22-year-old, who in 2022 became the youngest year-end No. 1 in history (since 1973). He is just the second active player to secure multiple year-end No. 1 finishes, joining Novak Djokovic (8).

Alcaraz began his season by reaching the quarter-finals at the Australian Open, where he was trying to win the one major missing from his resume. But since then, the Spaniard has been a dominant force on the ATP Tour.

The World No. 1 has won a Tour-leading eight titles in 2025, including victories at two majors (Roland Garros and US Open), three ATP Masters 1000 events (Monte-Carlo, Rome and Cincinnati) and three ATP 500 tournaments (Rotterdam, Queen’s Club and Tokyo). The eight trophies are the most he has earned in a season.

Alcaraz emerged victorious at Roland Garros and the US Open, becoming the second-youngest man in the Open Era to lift six Slam trophies behind only Bjorn Borg, who was also 22 when he reached the mark.

Alcaraz’s triumph at Roland Garros was particularly memorable. He saved three championship points against Sinner in the final, which at five hours and 29 minutes was the longest in tournament history. The 22-year-old became just the ninth player in the Open Era to rally from two sets down to win a major final, and the first to do it at Roland Garros since 2004, when Gaston Gaudio battled past Guillermo Coria.

By winning the US Open, which he did with the loss of just one set, Alcaraz became the youngest of four men to earn multiple major titles on clay, grass and hard courts. Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Mats Wilander are the other three.

Alcaraz has been more consistent than ever in 2025, advancing to the final of nine consecutive tournaments from the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters in April through the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo in September.

Alcaraz won 17 straight ATP Masters 1000 matches from the start of Monte-Carlo through his championship victory at the Cincinnati Open. Since the introduction of the Masters 1000 series in 1990, only Djokovic, Roger Federer, Nadal and Pete Sampras have earned longer winning streaks at the level.

The Murcia native joins Borg, Stefan Edberg and Lleyton Hewitt with two ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF finishes. He is the 11th player to claim year-end No. 1 more than once.

ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said: “Ending the season as the No. 1 player in the world is an incredible achievement—one that only 19 players have accomplished in more than 50 years of history. To do it twice by the age of 22 makes it even more special. It speaks not only to Carlos’ exceptional talent, but to his relentless drive to improve and his determination to compete against the very best. He should be immensely proud of what he’s achieved, and we look forward to watching him continue to inspire fans around the world.”

Having finished the group stage undefeated at the Nitto ATP Finals, Alcaraz has won the Jimmy Connors Group and will face the winner of Alexander Zverev and Felix Auger-Aliassime Saturday in the semi-finals. He is two victories from triumphing at the season finale for the first time.

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Patten gets engaged in Turin! 'I was much more nervous about getting engaged than my first match'

Henry Patten still has a chance to win the Nitto ATP Finals with partner Harri Heliovaara, but the Briton has already earned a win for life this week.

Sunday, the day before Patten played his first match of the season finale, he got engaged to longtime partner Ellie Stone.

“I’ve been with Ellie now for best part of 10 years, pretty much,” Patten told ATPTour.com. “It was coming at some point and as a tennis player, I don’t get to see her that much throughout the year. And this is one of the trips that she chose to come on.”

Patten secured the ring during Wimbledon and has been waiting for the special moment since, always having an eye on Turin. The 29-year-old arrived a day before Stone and scouted the city for the perfect spot. He ended up discovering Basilica di Superga, which has a view of the city.

“Somehow it was really quiet. Went up there in the morning, really beautiful day, and then I told her to look over at the chimneys, made up some kind of excuse, and then proposed,” Patten said. “She was very, very happy, I’m pleased to report. And [she was] surprised, which I think gets me bonus points.”

<img alt=”Henry Patten and Ellie Stone at the Basilica di Superga in Turin.” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/11/13/17/45/patten-turin-2025-engagement.jpg” />

The doubles standout played college tennis at the University of North Carolina Asheville, where he met Stone, who was on the soccer team. They have been together since.

It is difficult for them to spend time together throughout the year because Stone is in her second year of medical residency in North Carolina.

“She’s a doctor, officially, but she is in the process of becoming fully trained as a doctor over there,” Patten said. “She doesn’t get much time off and she can’t travel much. It’s not like she can do her job remotely. She’s in the hospital all the time.”

As excited as he was, Patten needed to refocus quickly to take the court inside Inalpi Arena Monday for his opening match of the year-end championships with Heliovaara against Christian Harrison and Evan King.

“I was much more nervous about getting engaged than I was about playing my first match,” Patten said, cracking a laugh. “I can tell you that for free.”

Heliovaara and Patten are 1-1 in the John McEnroe Group and still have a chance to qualify for the semi-finals. The Briton hopes to make it as far as possible in Turin, but will leave the city with his head held high no matter what happens.

“It’s such a big deal to me, so much more important. We’ve been together for 10 years and I’ll spend the rest of my life with her, which I’m incredibly excited about,” Patten said of his engagement. “It’s crazy, because obviously it is one of the biggest [tournaments], but it’s taken quite a big back seat. That being said, we’re still taking the tennis pretty seriously.”

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De Minaur bounces back from 'dark place' to keep ATP Finals bid alive

Alex de Minaur recovers from “a dark place” to keep his ATP Finals bid alive, while confirming Carlos Alcaraz’s place in the knockout stages in Turin.

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Krawietz/Puetz save MP, earn consolation win in Turin

The already-eliminated Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz earned victory in their final round-robin match on Thursday at the Nitto ATP Finals, where they saved one match point en route to defeating Italians Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori 7-6(5), 4-6, 13-11.

Last year’s champions Krawietz and Puetz had lost their opening two matches in the Peter Fleming group, while Bolelli and Vavassori had won both to ensure they would top the group regardless of Thursday’s result.

Despite no qualification permutations on the line, the sixth and seventh seeds played out an entertaining clash in the Inalpi Arena, where Krawietz and Puetz saved one match point at 9/10 in the Match Tie-break before eventually advancing after one hour and 57 minutes.

Krawietz and Puetz end their season holding a 42-18 record as a team, highlighted by titles in Shanghai and Halle. The Germans went 1-2 this week in Turin, having lifted the trophy in Turin last year.

Bolelli and Vavassori will compete in the semi-finals on Saturday. They will be joined in the last four by the winner of this evening’s doubles clash between Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool and Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos.

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Flashback: The first Federer vs. Nadal showdown at the 2006 Nitto ATP Finals

After meeting once in 2004 and twice in 2005, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal ramped up their Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry with six matchups during the 2006 season. Nadal won the first four of those meetings — finals at Dubai, Monte-Carlo, Rome and Roland Garros — before Federer snapped back with victories in the Wimbledon final and in the semis at the Nitto ATP Finals, then known as the Tennis Masters Cup.

With a 6-4, 7-5 win on his way to the title at the season finale, Federer stamped his authority on the prestigious event with his third of an eventual six trophies at the event.

“These are matches I’m waiting for, to beat the best who are coming after me,” Federer said after the semi-final victory.

With Nadal responsible for four of Federer’s five defeats in 2006, the Shanghai victory carried added significance for the Swiss, who ended the year with a 92-5 record according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. The only other man to beat Federer that year was Andy Murray in Cincinnati. After that defeat, Federer closed the season on a 29-match winning streak.

Prior to their Shanghai meeting, seven consecutive matchups between Federer and Nadal saw the losing player claim at least one set. Federer’s dominant performance at the Shanghai season finale ended that streak, putting an exclamation mark on one of the best seasons in ATP Tour history.

One of the bests exchanges of the match came in its final point, when Federer carved a forehand winner off a tough Nadal drop shot. The Swiss briefly dropped to his knees in celebration, showcasing the magnitude of the moment. 

“It was a good feeling, usually I only have that for finals,” said the Swiss. “I rarely finish my matches like this so it was nice.”

Federer went on to win the title with a 6-0, 6-3, 6-4 victory against James Blake in the final.

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Juventus star Bremer on why stars like Sinner impress: ‘In tennis, you have no alibis’

Gleison Bremer knows plenty about the challenges of elite sport. He is vice-captain of one of the world’s most historic football teams, Juventus FC, while he has also earned five caps for the Brazilian national team.

Yet even an athlete as established on the world stage as Bremer sees plenty to marvel at in the exploits of the ATP Tour’s roster of stars. The 28-year-old, who is a big tennis fan and names Lorenzo Musetti, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic as his favourite players, came to Turin’s Inalpi Arena on Wednesday evening to take in the action at the Nitto ATP Finals.

“Their mentality impresses me the most,” Bremer told ATPTour.com (in Italian), when asked about the differences between his own sport and tennis. “In tennis you’re alone, you have no alibis, you must take all the responsibility. In football you can afford to play not at your best if your teammates help you.”

The Nitto ATP Finals is not the only ATP Tour event Bremer has visited in 2025. He also went to the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters in April, when he met Musetti. In Turin on Wednesday, the Brazilian was courtside for Sinner’s straight-sets win against Alexander Zverev, and after the match he met and congratulated the No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings and defending Turin champion.

Of course, any Brazilian interested in tennis in 2025 can’t help but be excited by the recent emergence of a breakout star from the South American country. Joao Fonseca won the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF and has backed that with a stellar 2025 season.

The 19-year-old Fonseca rose to a career-high No. 24 in the PIF ATP Rankings earlier this month after lifting his maiden ATP 500 title at the Swiss Indoors Basel. For Bremer, the teenager from Rio de Janeiro has the potential to add his name to an iconic list of greats from a famously proud sporting nation.

“He’s young, but he’s rising,” said Bremer of Fonseca. “I think in the future he has the potential to reach the same level of those world-class champions. We missed great sportsmen in the past years. In the past we’ve had Pele, Ayrton Senna, Guga [Kuerten].”

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Navone nearly wins golden set at Montevideo Challenger

Mariano Navone fired through a near-perfect second set en route to reaching the Uruguay Open quarter-finals on Wednesday.

The 24-year-old, who is aiming for his second ATP Challenger Tour title in three weeks, rallied past former World No. 16 Marco Cecchinato 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 to steer clear of the upset trend in Montevideo. After dropping the opener, Navone stormed back and lost just two points in the entire second set (23/25), nearly claiming a golden set.

Navone won the first 20 points of the second set to lead 5-0 before Cecchinato ended the Argentine’s quest of a golden set. Navone, World No. 72 in the PIF ATP Rankings, then trailed in the early stages of the decider, but tallied four consecutive games from 2-4 to escape.

QFs called, @marianonavone1 answered ☎️

The Argentine rallies from a set down to defeat Cecchinato 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 and book his spot in the last eight in the Uruguayan capital!#ATPChallenger | @uruguayopen pic.twitter.com/s8569sJDoo

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) November 13, 2025

The clay-court event has featured a flurry of upsets, with top seed Sebastian Baez and defending champion Tristan Boyer falling in the first round, and then on Wednesday, American Emilio Nava was stunned by Brazil’s Gustavo Heide.

Nava was aiming for his 45th Challenger-match win of the year, which would have broken the single-season record amongst Americans. But Heide spoiled those hopes with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 triumph in a two-hour, 42-minute battle against the third seed.

Did You Know?
In 2023, Navone claimed a season-leading five Challenger trophies and the following season he became the first player in the Open Era to be seeded in his first major main draw.

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Alcaraz playing for double prize vs. Musetti in Nitto ATP Finals group finale

Two singles semi-final spots will be decided on Thursday at the Nitto ATP Finals as round-robin play concludes in the Jimmy Connors Group.

A win for Carlos Alcaraz against Lorenzo Musetti would seal first place in the group and ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours for the Spaniard, while Alex de Minaur needs a straight-sets win against Taylor Fritz — coupled with an Alcaraz victory — to advance. Alcaraz leads the group after two matches at 2-0, followed by Fritz at 1-1, Musetti at 1-1 and De Minaur at 0-2.

In doubles action, the Peter Fleming Group will also wrap up Thursday. Italians Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori bid to finish a perfect round-robin campaign when they face the 0-2 team of Tim Puetz and Kevin Krawietz, before a win-and-advance showdown that pits top seeds Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool against Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos.

[1] Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) vs. [9] Lorenzo Musetti (ITA)
Alcaraz is among the most fearless competitors on the ATP Tour, but the bold 22-year-old admitted nerves could factor into this high-stakes match against Musetti. Pitted against the smooth-hitting home favourite and the Italian crowd, Alcaraz is well aware of what is on the line.

A win would send him through to the semi-finals with a perfect 3-0 group record and seal his second year-end No. 1 finish in the PIF ATP Rankings, his first since 2022.

“I will try not to think about it,” Alcaraz said after a 6-7(2), 7-5, 6-3 win against Fritz on Tuesday in Turin. “It’s going to be a really big match for me. I will try not to let the nerves play a bad time in the match. I will think about my goals, about feeling much better than today.”

After winning his opening match at the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time in three tries, beating De Minaur on Sunday, Alcaraz secured a win from a set down for the first time in Turin against Fritz. While he discussed the physical and emotional stresses of that nearly three-hour match, he welcomed the day off ahead of the group finale. Another off day would await before the semi-finals, a luxury not afforded to the players in the Bjorn Borg Group.

Musetti won a brutal three-setter of his own against De Minaur on Tuesday, battling back from a break down in the third set for a 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 result — his first win in his Nitto ATP Finals  tournament debut. While he struggled physically at times, he drew on his “big heart and big passion for this game” to fight back, to the delight of the home crowd.

“I am a warrior,” Musetti said. “I have improved a lot on the mental side and I am pushing myself to the limit because I am playing every match against the top players. The next one coming is against Carlos. I know how difficult it is, especially in these conditions. I will try to enjoy and fight like I did today.”

Alcaraz and Musetti have met on some of the game’s biggest stages this season, with Alcaraz sweeping meetings in Monte-Carlo, Rome and Roland Garros and winning the title at all three events. Despite trailing Alcaraz 1-6 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head with six consecutive defeats, the Italian managed to take a set off his rival in two of their three matches this season — all on clay courts.

Both players are clay natives, though Alcaraz’s game has translated to more success on hard courts. While Musetti may have the home-crowd advantage, the quick conditions favour the versatile Alcaraz. But at his best, Musetti is one of the few men on the ATP Tour who can rival Alcaraz for both power and artistry. After the De Minaur thriller, can the Italian paint another masterpiece against the top seed?

<img alt=”Taylor Fritz, Alex de Minaur” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/11/12/20/23/fritz-de-minaur-turin-rr-preview.jpg” />

[6] Taylor Fritz (USA) vs. [7] Alex de Minaur (AUS)
Despite heartbreaking defeats for each on Tuesday, Fritz and De Minaur are still in with a chance to advance to the Turin semi-finals. Fritz controls his own destiny, with a win enough to reach the Nitto ATP Finals knockout rounds for the third time. De Minaur needs a straight-sets victory to stay in contention, and would then be rooting for Alcaraz to send him through with an evening win over Musetti.

Fritz and De Minaur were both reeling immediately after their Tuesday outings, with the Aussie taking the loss particularly hard.

“If I really want to be serious about taking the next step in my career, these matches, I can’t lose them. I just can’t,” De Minaur said after failing to close out Musetti from 5-3 up in the final set. “I mean, it feels like I’ve lost a lot of them this year. More than anything, it’s getting to a point where mentally it’s killing me.”

Adding to the pain was the fact that De Minaur was denied his first Nitto ATP Finals win in two appearances; he is now 0-5 in Turin between his debut last season and this current campaign. After notching a career-best 55 wins this season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, the Aussie will be eager to add at least one more to his tally.

Fritz had Alcaraz on the ropes in the second set of their meeting, but after missing out on two break points in a marathon fifth game in the second set, he did not earn another break opportunity in the match.

“I had the chances. I had all I could ask for,” he reflected. “I’d say the thing that’s frustrating is most of the opportunities that come to my mind were all on me actually having the ball that I want to really attack on, just not hitting it well enough.”

The American credited his aggressive returning with creating opportunities to attack on return, and he’ll hope to have plenty more chances to dictate against De Minaur. While the Aussie is not as attack-minded as Alcaraz, he knows how to do damage on hard courts: his 42 wins on the surface this season are the most on the ATP Tour.

The pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head is dead even at 5-5, though they have not played since Fritz swept two late-season meetings in 2024, at the Nitto ATP Finals and Davis Cup.

Doubles Action
The standings in the Peter Fleming Group make for a very straightforward Thursday. At 2-0 with a perfect 4-0 set record, Italians Bolelli and Vavassori have clinched first place in the group — though they will still be playing for significant PIF ATP Doubles Rankings points and prize money when they take on Krawietz and Puetz, whose title defence will end in the round-robin stage.

Cash and Glasspool, who clinched Year-End ATP Doubles No. 1 presented by PIF honours by beating the Germans on Tuesday, take on third seeds Granollers and Zeballos in what effectively amounts to a quarter-final: the winner of that evening showdown will advance to the semi-finals in second place.

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Who will finish the year as American No. 1: Taylor Fritz or Ben Shelton?

The battle for American No. 1 is coming down to the very end of the season.

Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton are battling for the spot at the Nitto ATP Finals with one round-robin match remaining for each at Inalpi Arena.

Fritz is currently No. 5 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings with 4,135 points, 165 points ahead of No. 8 Shelton.

Shelton began the week ahead of his countryman, but Fritz has gone 1-1 in group play in Turin compared to 0-2 for Shelton. The 200 points Fritz earned by defeating Lorenzo Musetti in his opening match of the week helped him climb past the lefty.

Although Shelton can still claim year-end American No. 1 from Fritz, he faces an uphill battle. The former University of Florida standout must defeat defending champion Jannik Sinner on Friday to have any chance.

If Shelton does not defeat Sinner, Fritz will finish the season as at the top-ranked American for the fifth consecutive year. The last player other than Fritz to hold the position was John Isner in 2020.

Fritz takes on Alex de Minaur on Thursday, when he will try to book his spot in the semi-finals of the Nitto ATP Finals for the third time in his third appearance. If he wins that match, he will clinch year-end American No. 1, because Shelton cannot qualify for the semi-finals.

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Sinner tops Zverev for third time in 17 days, reaches Turin SFs

Jannik Sinner sealed his place in the last four of the Nitto ATP Finals on Wednesday when he defeated Alexander Zverev for the third time in 17 days.

Aiming to defend his title at the season finale, the 24-year-old delivered a high-quality performance en route to a 6-4, 6-3 victory. Sinner holds a 2-0 record in the Bjorn Borg group and is yet to play Ben Shelton before competing in the semi-finals.

“A very, very competitive match, a very close match,” Sinner said in his on-court interview. “I felt like I was serving very well in important moments. I tried to play the best tennis possible when it mattered, which fortunately went my way.”

Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole, Sinner, Sinner 🔊🎟️@janniksin delivers the goods in front of his adoring home fans as he defeats Zverev 6-4 6-3 and qualifies for the semi-finals!#NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/OrW8XZcixO

— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 12, 2025

Sinner earned his fifth consecutive win against the German and improved to 6-4 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry, a series that Zverev once led 4-1. Zverev’s last win against Sinner came at the 2023 US Open. Sinner beat Zverev in this year’s Australian Open final and more recently in a three-set Vienna championship match, followed by a 6-0, 6-1 win in the semi-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 event in Paris.

“We both changed a little bit tactically, so I felt like we both were trying to hit quite fast, quite flat,” said Sinner, who struck 28 winners to Zverev’s 17. “But I’m very happy with how I returned his serve. It’s very difficult. One of the best serves in the game. The group I’m in, with Sascha and Ben, it’s very difficult to return their serves.”

In pressure moments, the Italian showcased his trademark fortitude and unwavering composure. Zverev, who won the Nitto ATP Finals in 2018 and 2021, held two break points in the opening game of the match, both of which Sinner erased with aces. Sinner struck four aces in the first game alone and 12 for the match.

Sinner claimed a decisive break at 5-4 in the opener, clinching his third set point. He earned his first set point by winning a thrilling 17-ball rally that ended when Zverev mistimed a forehand. A dialled-in Sinner never wavered from his high intensity, feeding off the roar of his home crowd inside Inalpi Arena.

The 23-time tour-level champion relied on his serve in crucial moments. He saved all seven break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and landed his first serve on each of those occasions, including three consecutive points when trailing 0//40 in his second service game of the second set.

Still alive in the chase for ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours, Sinner must win the title this week as an undefeated champion and hope that Alcaraz does not record another victory. Alcaraz, already safely into the semi-finals, faces Sinner’s countryman Lorenzo Musetti on Thursday.

Sinner is on a 28-match winning streak on indoor hard courts since falling to Novak Djokovic in the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals championship match. Since then, Sinner has not dropped a set in Turin. Last year he became the first man to win the event without losing a set since 1986 (Ivan Lendl).

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