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Basavareddy joins forces with Gilles Cervara

  • Posted: Dec 04, 2025

Nishesh Basavareddy has begun working with a new coach, Gilles Cervara, the American’s team confirmed Thursday.

The 20-year-old had a strong showing in 2025, having reached his maiden tour-level semi-final in Auckland and later climbing to a career-high No. 99 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Basavareddy took a set off 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic in the first round of the Australian Open.

For the second consecutive year, Basavareddy qualified for the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, which runs from 17-21 December in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Cervara is best known for guiding Daniil Medvedev for eight successful years. During that time, Medvedev reached World No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, won the 2021 US Open, the 2020 Nitto ATP Finals and six ATP Masters 1000 trophies.

In 2019, the Frenchman Cervara was named the ATP Coach of the Year in the ATP Awards. Cervara and Medvedev parted ways at the end of August.

Basavareddy, who turned pro last December following two seasons at Stanford University, will be one of eight players competing at the 20-and-under event in Jeddah this month. Jakub Mensik, Learner Tien, Alexander Blockx, Dino Prizmic, Martin Landaluce, Nicolai Budkov Kjaer, and Rafael Jodar will also be in action.

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On this day: Kuerten hits No. 1 after Masters Cup magic in Lisbon

  • Posted: Dec 04, 2025

It may take 12 months of hard work to reach No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, but Gustavo Kuerten’s rise to top spot will forever be associated with a hectic 48 hours in Lisbon.

Competing at the 2000 Nitto ATP Finals (then known as the Tennis Masters Cup), Brazilian star Kuerten pulled off back-to-back victories against a pair of American greats to seal the tournament trophy, his first rise to World No. 1, and ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours — all in one swoop.

Incumbent No. 1 Marat Safin headed into the prestigious season finale needing three match wins to guarantee he held onto top spot, but he finished his campaign one victory short after losing to Pete Sampras (in the group stage) and Andre Agassi (in the semi-finals). The door was ajar for Kuerten, but the Brazilian now faced the same opponents as Safin, only in reverse: if he could beat Sampras in the semi-final and Agassi in the final, the No. 1 spot was his.

Roared on by an adoring Lisbon crowd, Kuerten somehow overcame the physical issues that plagued him all week in Portugal to pull off a pair of memorable victories. He rallied from a set down in the best-of-three semi-final to defeat Sampras, before riding a wave of emotion to a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 championship-match triumph against Agassi.

It All Adds Up

Kuerten’s Lisbon triumph was his fifth tour-level title of the 2000 season. He triumphed on his favoured clay in Santiago, at the ATP Masters 1000 in Hamburg, and at Roland Garros, where he reclaimed the major title he had first won in 1997. He also won the first ATP Tour hard-court crown of his career in Indianapolis and reached further Masters 1000 finals in Miami and Rome, respectively, en route to a 63-22 record for the season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

Kuerten therefore had plenty of fond memories from the 2000 season alone, not to mention from the rest of his career. Yet even after finishing his playing days as a three-time Roland Garros champion who enjoyed 43 weeks overall as World No. 1, he recognises his Lisbon heroics were something special.

“As a tennis player, nothing could be higher than becoming No. 1 at the [Tennis Masters Cup], beating Pete and then Andre back-to-back,” Kuerten, who is the only South American to have claimed ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours, later said. “This is the highlight of my career by far.”

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Rules & innovations unveiled for the 2025 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF

  • Posted: Dec 03, 2025

The eighth edition of the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF is set to light up Jeddah later this month, when the world’s best 20-and-under players on the ATP Tour will battle it out for the season-ending crown in Saudi Arabia.

Following the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, the field has been set, and the ATP on Wednesday announced the rules and cutting-edge innovations for the 2025 event, which is to be held from 17-21 December.

Read all about the rules and innovations for the 2025 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF below.

SCORING

– First-to-4, Best-of-5 set scoring: Each match shall be the best of 5 tie-break sets. Each
set shall be first to 4 games with a margin of 2 games and a tie-break (first to 7
points with a margin of 2) played at 3-3. Each game shall be played using the No-Ad
scoring format with the Server choosing the service box.

CHANGEOVERS

– There will be no change of ends after the first game.
– Players will change ends and sit down for 90 seconds after the first three games
are played, once more if the set score reaches 3:2 (i.e., after two more games in the
set), and then again at the end of the set (regardless of the final set score).
– Players will change ends after every six points in the tie-break.
– Players will sit down at the end of the set for 90 seconds, reduced from 120
seconds.

RULES INITIATIVES

– Warm-up: Players will warm up for 3 minutes on court.
– Ball change: After every 7 games.
– Serve Shot Clock: Up to 8 seconds will be permitted between first and second serve.
A shot clock will display the time elapsed between the first and second serve.
– Time between Points: The time between points will be reduced from 25 seconds
to 15 seconds if a point is below three shots (e.g., 2 shots = 15 seconds; 3 shots =
25 seconds).
– Free Fan Movement: Free movement will be allowed in the stadium for the first
three games of the match. After the first free games, fans will be allowed to move
freely except for limited areas behind the baseline in direct player view. Movement by a spectator(s) in the designated free movement areas shall
not constitute a legitimate pause in the shot clock.
– Umpire Chair: A lower umpire chair will be continued to be used to reduce the visual
obstruction for fans in the arena.

INNOVATION INITIATIVES

In-arena data analytics: more match statistics and analytics will be available to fans, players and coaches than ever before. The following data will be shown in the arena:
– Traditional tennis statistics including aces, serve percentages, break point
performance
– Player performance based upon rally length
– Player Shot Quality broken down by Serve, Return, Forehand, Backhand and
Movement.
– Match Insights data detailing which Player has been “In Attack” the most, who has won more points when attacking (“Conversion Score”) and who has won the most points when defending (“Steal Score”)

The data will also be available to the players’ coaches courtside via the ATP’s performance analytics platform, ATP Tennis IQ Powered by PIF, as well as the provision of video footage tagged with match data available post-match.

Read More
Journey to Jeddah: The calm, confident rise of Tien & Sakamoto’s development
Next Gen ATP Finals field is set

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Tweeners, no-look stunners and epic scrambles: Vote for Hot Shot of the Year

  • Posted: Dec 03, 2025

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. Today, we highlight a must-see collection of the top ‘Hot Shots’ from 2025. 

Get ready to take a look back at the season’s most remarkable moments, featuring ATP Tour stars pushing their limits and showing off their incredible court craft.

Throughout the year, 10 players earned Hot Shot of the Month honours. Among the fan-voted winners were Carlos Alcaraz’s jaw-dropping tweener lob in Monte-Carlo in April and Novak Djokovic’s stunning touch in Geneva in May. Now it’s time to select the best of the best in the 2025 Hot Shot of the Year fan vote!

Complete list of ‘Hot Shot of the Month’ winners in 2025:
January: Hubert Hurkacz (United Cup)
February: Tommy Paul (Dallas)
March: Grigor Dimitrov (Indian Wells)
April: Carlos Alcaraz (Monte-Carlo)
May: Novak Djokovic (Geneva)
June: Hamad Medjedovic (Mallorca)
July: Damir Dzumhur (Umag)
August: Julian Cash (Toronto)
September: Shang Juncheng (Beijing)
October: Cameron Norrie (Paris)

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By The Numbers: 2025 ATP Challenger season

  • Posted: Dec 03, 2025

Who recorded the most wins at ATP Challenger level in 2025? Which player earned the most titles? Who were among the teenage stars to make a breakthrough? Find out below as ATPTour.com reviews key facts and figures to remember from the 2025 ATP Challenger season.

Nava Notches Most Match Wins
American Emilio Nava and Canadian Liam Draxl finished with a season-leading 44 match wins at the Challenger level. Nava, who finished the year at a career-high No. 88 in the PIF ATP Rankings, won four titles to cap his career-best season. Draxl claimed his lone title on home soil in Winnipeg and reached six additional finals this season.

Of Nava’s 44 match wins, 42 were on clay. The 23-year-old went on a 19-match winning streak on the surface from mid-March to mid-April, a run during which he won three titles (Asuncion, Concepcion and Sarasota) and finished runner-up in Tallahassee, where Chris Rodesch ended Nava’s streak of 35 consecutive sets won. Nava then added to his title count in September with his triumph in Villa Maria, Argentina. Nava was one win shy of breaking the American record for most Challenger match wins in a season.

Six-Way Tie For Most Titles
Nava and five other players were tied for the most Challenger titles this season. The group includes #NextGenATP talent Nicolai Budkov Kjaer, Borna Coric, Cristian Garin, Jan Choinski and Patrick Kypson. Budkov Kjaer, 19, qualified for his maiden trip to the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, which runs from 17-21 December in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He lifted trophies in Glasgow, Tampere, Astana and Mouilleron le Captif.

Challenger Singles Titles Leaders, 2025

Player Titles
Nicolai Budkov Kjaer 4
Emilio Nava 4
Borna Coric 4
Jan Choinski 4
Patrick Kypson 4
Cristian Garin 4

Fonseca, Engel, Budkov Kjaer Among Teenage Champions
Nine teenagers combined for 17 titles, including last year’s Jeddah champion Joao Fonseca. Just 13 days removed from his triumph in Saudi Arabia, Fonseca won the Canberra Challenger to join Jannik Sinner as the only Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion to win his ensuing outing. In 2019, Sinner won the Ortisei Challenger the week after lifting the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF crown.

Among the other teenage champions were Justin Engel, Budkov Kjaer, Rafael Jodar, Rei Sakamoto, Martin Landaluce, Alexander Blockx, Dino Prizmic and Matej Dodig.

<img alt=”Joao Fonseca claims his third ATP Challenger Tour trophy.” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/03/17/00/01/fonseca-phoenixch-2025-trophy2.jpg” />
Credit: ImagenShop Agencia Fotográfica/ATC

Title Leaders By Country
The United States led the way with 23 Challenger titles this year, a single-season record for American players. France was not far behind with its 19 trophies and Argentine players combined for 16 titles. Americans Nava and Kypson led the way for the USA with four trophies each. Kyrian Jacquet led Frenchmen with three titles.

ATP Tour & Challenger Champions
Four players were crowned champion not only on the Challenger circuit, but also the ATP Tour. Fonseca, who won his biggest career title at the ATP 500 in Basel, became the second player since 2014 to win multiple ATP Tour and multiple ATP Challenger titles in the same season. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard achieved the feat last year. Fonseca won the Canberra and Phoenix Challengers this year, while also triumphing at the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires.

Alexander Bublik, Marton Fucsovics and Luciano Darderi also reached the winner’s circle at the Challenger level as well as the ATP Tour this year.

Bublik, Coric Among Challenger 175 Titlists
Bublik, who won four tour-level titles this season, captured the trophy at the Turin Challenger, one of six Challenger 175 events, the highest Challenger category. Fonseca became the youngest Challenger 175 champion when he won the Phoenix Challenger in March while Aleksandar Kovacevic was victorious in Cap Cana.

In April, during the second week of the Mutua Madrid Open, Borna Coric beat Stan Wawrinka in the Aix-en-Provence final, a three-hour, 11-minute thriller that the Croatian won in a third-set tie-break. That same week, Alex Michelsen won the Estoril Open in Portugal, the American’s first clay-court crown at any level. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard won on home soil in Bordeaux in May.

ATP Next Gen Accelerator Qualifiers Find Success
Five collegiate players who qualified for the ATP Next Gen Accelerator won Challenger titles, spearheaded by reigning NCAA champion Michael Zheng, who triumphed while using an Accelerator spot in Chicago in August. The next month, Zheng won two consecutive titles in Columbus and Tiburon. He successfully defended his NCAA singles crown in November, representing Columbia University. Colton Smith, Rafael Jodar, Jay Friend and Jack Pinnington Jones also triumphed.

Fast Facts

  • German Justin Engel was the youngest champion of the season, with his victory in Hamburg (18 years, 25 days). Former No. 3 Marin Cilic was the oldest champion of the season, with his triumph in Nottingham (36 years, eight months). Cilic broke Andy Murray’s record for oldest grass-court Challenger titlist.
  • The Hamburg final between Engel and Federico Cina, both 18, was the youngest Challenger championship match since 2003, when Mario Ancic beat Rafael Nadal — also in Hamburg.
  • Rafael Jodar, 19, became the third Spanish teenager to win at least three Challenger titles, joining World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and former No. 9 Nicolas Almagro.
  • Dino Prizmic became the second Croatian — alongside Mario Ancic — to win three Challenger titles as a teenager. Rei Sakamoto became the first Japanese teenager to win three Challenger titles.
  • Eliakim Coulibaly became the first champion from Côte d’Ivoire with his memorable victory on home soil in Abidjan, which welcomed the ATP Challenger for the first time this season.
  • Stefano Napolitano was the lowest-ranked champion of the season. The Italian won his hometown tournament in Biella as World No. 847.
  • Australians Finn Reynolds and James Watt partnered for a season-best five doubles titles as a team. Ray Ho won eight doubles titles with six partners.
  • Moldova, Pakistan and Côte d’Ivoire made Challenger debuts in 2025, with the cities of Chisinau, Islamabad and Abidjan hosting tournaments for the first time. In total, 97 different countries/territories have welcomed a Challenger tournament in the history of the circuit.
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