Sinner to miss Italy's Davis Cup title defence
Four-time Grand Slam champion Jannik Sinner will not be part of the Italy team aiming to win a third consecutive Davis Cup title in November.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Jannik Sinner will not be part of the Italy team aiming to win a third consecutive Davis Cup title in November.
Luka Mikrut is living out his childhood dream while honouring the memory of his late father.
The 21-year-old, who is “playing the best tennis of his life”, recently climbed to a career-high No. 159 in the PIF ATP Rankings, in part thanks to his two ATP Challenger Tour trophies earned in the past three months. He also reached the Valencia Challenger final in his most recent outing, extending his run to 19 wins in his past 22 matches.
However, Mikrut is doing it without his father, Mijo, who passed away in 2023.
“He had bad cancer,” Mikrut told ATPTour.com. “He was sick for one year. When they first found out what it was, they told him maybe one or two months. He pulled it out to one year. But it was very hard. Those situations really hit hard.
“Even before he died, he was really sick and when you are younger, you don’t think about it. But when this happens in the family, you start to think about this stuff a bit and it’s not easy.”
Mikrut fondly recalls the days he and his father travelled to tournaments together, with Mijo meticulously handling every detail, from organising the coaching plan, booking flights and more. Now, Mikrut is handling that aspect alone. Mikrut’s life on the road has not been the same without his father, whose absence he deeply felt while competing shortly after his passing.
“One day it was his funeral and the next day I went to a tournament and I played the day after,” said Mikrut. “I had no chance to do anything.”
There was a moment last year when the emotions came rushing back.
“When I was playing Davis Cup for the second time, I was there and at one point it just hit, ‘He doesn’t know it’s Davis Cup time, it’s in Croatia’,” Mikrut said. “It hits hard.”
But to understand Mikrut is to know his resilience. A fitting quote from his favourite movie, Rocky V, is even etched on his right bicep: “It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much you can take and keep moving forward.”
Those words are a source of strength for Mikrut, who said that tattoo was the most painful of the seven he sports.
“Every ink drop was worth it,” he said with a laugh. “Sometimes I remember it and it gets me going, gets me hyped and gives me some extra energy you need to win. You see Rocky in every movie, he is getting beaten a lot and somehow he wins it. Sometimes, actually very often, it’s like that in tennis.”
A native of Split — Croatia’s second-largest city — Mikrut began playing tennis aged five. His tennis-fanatic grandmother owned videotapes and DVDs of classic matches of Roger Federer, Pete Sampras and others. Mikrut’s mother owned a DVD shop in the 2000s. Though DVDs are largely forgotten, those tennis films hold a special place in Mikrut’s heart.
“It’s a bit nostalgic. I used to watch that all day and since I was young I would put the [headband] around my head and imitate that I’m Federer,” Mikrut said. “I don’t watch it anymore, but we still have the player and the tapes. I have one video of Federer and Agassi at the US Open, I don’t know which year, but I used to watch it all day, every day.”
Mikrut honed his game at Tennis Klub Split, a renowned breeding ground for Croatian talent that has produced stars including Goran Ivanisevic and Mario Ancic. Dino Prizmic, a contender for the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF also trained there. There is a proud tennis legacy in Split, the hometown of the late Nikola Pilic, who passed away in September.
“We are not a big country, there’s not many of us in tennis compared to other countries like Italy, France or the United States, but we are doing good results,” said Mikrut.
<img alt=”Luka Mikrut at the Braga Challenger.” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/10/06/15/32/mikrut-bragach-2025.jpg” />
Luka Mikrut at the Braga Challenger. Credit: Eduardo Oliveira/FPT
The champion of this year’s Como and Braga Challenger events, Mikrut received congratulatory texts from the former No. 2 Ivanisevic following his triumphs. Mikrut idolised Federer and countryman Ivanisevic as a child.
“[Goran] was the first Croatian to win a Grand Slam,” Mikrut said. “He is some inspiration because you have a guy from your city win on the big scene and you can see that you can do it yourself.”
Mikrut cannot quite pinpoint what has sparked his sudden rise — a surge of more than 200 spots in the PIF ATP Rankings over the past two months — but one thing is certain: every step forward is a way to make his father proud.
“He always pushed me and I always liked to hear from him that he was proud,” Mikrut said. “And I believe he would be very proud now.”
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Rafael Jodar and Gilles Arnaud Bailly have made big moves in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah following dream weeks.
Spaniard Jodar has climbed nine spots to ninth in the Live Race after winning his second ATP Challenger Tour title of the season. The 19-year-old, who did not hit a double fault en route to the trophy in Lincoln, United States, was a sparring partner at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF in 2024 and is now firmly in contention of qualifying this year.
Jodar won the US Open Boys’ Singles title last season and has gone from strength to strength this season, also triumphing at a Challenger Tour event in Greece in August. He is on 267 points, 82 points behind eighth-placed Nishesh Basaverredy, who occupies the final qualification spot.
View PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah
Bailly has jumped four places to 11th in the Live Race. The 20-year-old Belgian enjoyed a breakthrough week on home soil at the ATP 250 event in Brussels, where he advanced through qualifying and then defeated Daniel Altmaier to secure his first tour-level win.
“I have always enjoyed the chance to play at an ATP event but to do this in my country, to qualify and then win a round was really special. I really hope to keep going now. It has been a good year for me,” Bailly said.
Bailly began the season outside the Top 800 in the PIF ATP Rankings but now sits at No. 232. The 20-year-old is proud with the progress he has made this season.
“I worked hard at the start of the year and started doing well at the Futures,” Bailly told ATPTour.com. “I then started to play more Challengers and saw my level going up and I was playing better and then had some good opportunities with the Next Gen spots, so I am grateful for that support.”
Read more about the Next Gen Accelerator here.
The Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF will take place in Jeddah from 17-21 December. The cutoff date for the Live Race is 10th November, with the Top eight players qualifying for the 20-and-under event. Joao Fonseca won the title in 2024, joining a list of former champions that includes Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Felix Auger-Aliassime, Casper Ruud and Daniil Medvedev kept themselves in Nitto ATP Finals contention with title runs last week. ATPTour.com looks at the movers of the week in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin as of Monday 20 October.
Felix Auger-Aliassime – ninth (3,145 points), +1
The Canadian has climbed one spot and moved to within 340 points of eighth-placed Lorenzo Musetti following victory in Brussels. The 25-year-old defeated Jiri Lehecka to win the crown, with his wife Nina Ghaibi watching courtside. Auger-Aliassime next heads to Basel and is aiming to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the second time (2022).
View the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin
Casper Ruud – 11th (2,735)
Ruud remains 11th in the Live Race but has made ground on Musetti after winning the title in Stockholm. The 26-year-old is the first Norwegian to triumph at the ATP 250 and is now 37-14 on the year, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.
Danii Medvedev – 13th (2,560)
Could the 29-year-old qualify for the year-end event for the seventh consecutive season? The 2020 Nitto ATP Finals champion kept himself in contention by winning his first title in 882 days in Almaty, where he beat Corentin Moutet in the final to improve to 2-1 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series. Medvedev will search for more precious points at the ATP 500 in Vienna this week.
Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic have already qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals, taking place from 9-16 November at Inalpi Arena in Turin.
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Is Lorenzo Musetti’s bid for a maiden Nitto ATP Finals qualification under threat from Felix Auger-Aliassime, Casper Ruud and Daniil Medvedev?
All three stars claimed ATP 250 titles on Sunday that could prove pivotal as the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin nears its climax. With 10th-placed Jack Draper sideline for the remainder of the season through injury, Auger-Aliassime (ninth), Ruud (11th) and Medvedev (12th) continue to pile the pressure on Musetti, who currently occupies the final qualification spot in eighth, and Alex de Minaur, who is just ahead in seventh..
Musetti has made it clear that a big goal this season is to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, which is especially important to the Italian given the event is played on home soil. But Musetti has never earned his place at the season finale before, while those behind him have.
Three years ago, Auger-Aliassime made a late charge into the field thanks to success during this same indoor season. Ruud is a three-time qualifier for the year-end championships, while Medvedev is pursuing his seventh consecutive qualification.
PIF ATP Live Race To Turin (following Brussels, Stockholm, Almaty)
| Player | Points |
| 4) Alexander Zverev | 4,280 |
| 5) Taylor Fritz | 3,835 |
| 6) Ben Shelton | 3,720 |
| 7) Alex de Minaur | 3,545 |
| 8) Lorenzo Musetti | 3,485 |
| 9) Felix Auger-Aliassime | 3,155 |
| 10) Jack Draper | 2,990 |
| 11) Casper Ruud | 2,745 |
| 12) Daniil Medvedev | 2,610 |
*Draper is not competing the rest of the season through injury
Following his sixth ATP Tour title on indoor courts in Brussels, Auger-Aliassime trails Musetti by just 330 points. He is a proven contender on hard courts and the two-time Basel champion has the opportunity to further close the gap when he returns to the ATP 500 event.
Ruud clinched his maiden Stockholm trophy and sent a reminder. He is 740 points behind Musetti but could also push further when he competed in Basel.
Medvedev entered the Rolex Shanghai Masters in 20th place in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, but he reached the semi-finals and backed it up with a title run at the Almaty Open. The former Nitto ATP Finals champion is now 13th and will fancy his chances to gain more ground in Vienna and Paris, where he has triumphed in the past.
Musetti — along with sixth-placed Ben Shelton — is aiming to make his debut at the year-end championships. Fourth-placed Alexander Zverev, fifth-placed Taylor Fritz and seventh-placed Alex de Minaur all have experience at the Nitto ATP Finals, and they are still trying to secure their spot in Turin.
De Minaur made his debut one year ago and is trying to return to Inalpi Arena. The Australian has cushion in seventh place, but he is only 60 points ahead of Musetti.
Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic have already qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals. Sinner is the defending champion, while Alcaraz will chase his first title at the tournament. Djokovic is the record seven-time champion at the season finale.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]The Erste Bank Open, an ATP 500 tournament in Vienna, Austria, which this year runs from 20-26 October, has announced a prize money total of €2,736,875 for the 2025 edition.
The singles champion will earn €511,835, while the winning doubles team will split €168,120. View the full prize-money breakdown and the PIF ATP Rankings points at stake below.
2025 Erste Bank Open Singles Prize Money
| Rounds | Points | Prize Money |
| Winner | 500 | €511,835 |
| Finalist | 330 | €275,390 |
| Semi-finalist | 200 | €146,765 |
| Quarter-finalist | 100 | €74,980 |
| Round of 16 | 50 | €40,025 |
| Round of 32 | 0 | €21,345 |
2025 Erste Bank Open Doubles Prize Money (per team)
| Rounds | Points | Prize Money |
| Winner | 500 | €168,120 |
| Finalist | 300 | €89,660 |
| Semi-finalist | 180 | €45,360 |
| Quarter-finalist | 90 | €22,690 |
| Round of 16 | 0 | € 11,740 |
The Swiss Indoors Basel, an ATP 500 tournament in Basel, Switzerland, which this year runs from 20-26 October, has announced a prize money total of €2,523,045 for the 2025 edition.
The singles champion will earn €471,823, while the winning doubles team will split €154,980. View the full prize-money breakdown and the PIF ATP Rankings points at stake below.
2025 Swiss Indoors Basel Singles Prize Money
| Rounds | Points | Prize Money |
| Winner | 500 | €471,825 |
| Finalist | 330 | €253,875 |
| Semi-finalist | 200 | €135,300 |
| Quarter-finalist | 100 | €69,125 |
| Round of 16 | 50 | €36,900 |
| Round of 32 | 0 | €19,680 |
2025 Swiss Indoors Basel Doubles Prize Money (per team)
| Rounds | Points | Prize Money |
| Winner | 500 | €154,980 |
| Finalist | 300 | €82,650 |
| Semi-finalist | 180 | €41,820 |
| Quarter-finalist | 90 | €20,910 |
| Round of 16 | 0 | €10,820 |
The 2025 Swiss Indoors Basel begins Monday, with Top 8 seeds Jakub Mensik and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina among those in action at the ATP 500 event.
Mensik faces 18-year-old Swiss wild card Henry Bernet, who is competing in the main draw of a tour-level event for the first time. Davidovich Fokina opens against Lorenzo Sonego.
View Monday’s full schedule below…
ORDER OF PLAY – MONDAY, 20 OCTOBER 2025
Center Court – start 14:00
Jenson Brooksby (USA) vs Alexandre Muller (FRA)
Lorenzo Sonego (ITA) vs [8] Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (ESP)
Not Before 18:30
OPENING CEREMONY
Not Before 20:00
[7] Jakub Mensik (CZE) vs [WC] Henry Bernet (SUI)
IWB Court 1 – start 12:00
Austin Krajicek (USA) / Nikola Mektic (CRO) vs [WC] Marc-Andrea Huesler (SUI) / Jakub Paul (SUI)
[WC] Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA) / Nicolas Mahut (FRA) vs Joao Fonseca (BRA) / Rafael Matos (BRA)
Not Before 15:30
[Q] Remy Bertola (SUI) vs Jaume Munar (ESP)
Robert Cash (USA) / JJ Tracy (USA) vs Sander Arends (NED) / Luke Johnson (GBR)