TURIN (The Thursday Times) — Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz will lead the field at the ATP Finals in Turin, which begin on Sunday without the two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner and with four players making their debut.
Sinner, who won the season-ending title in 2024 and 2025, has not played since winning his fifth Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in July because of a knee injury. Speaking in Milan on Tuesday, the Italian said he hoped to return for the Australian Open in January but would not rush his recovery.
Zverev and Alcaraz top the seedings
Zverev, the world No. 1 and top seed, is a two-time champion, having won in 2018 and 2021, and is making his ninth appearance at the event. Alcaraz, the second seed, arrives in form after beating Ben Shelton in the Paris Masters final on Sunday for his first title in the French capital. The Spaniard is still chasing his first ATP Finals crown after losing last year’s final to Sinner.
Daniil Medvedev, the 2020 champion, is the only other former winner in the eight-man field.
Four newcomers
Half of the field is new to the tournament. The American Frances Tiafoe makes his debut alongside Shelton, giving the United States two qualifiers for the second year running; no American has won the singles title since Pete Sampras in 1999.
Italy’s Flavio Cobolli will play his first ATP Finals in front of a home crowd after a season in which he reached the French Open final, while Arthur Fils, who won titles in Barcelona and Cincinnati, is the first Frenchman to qualify since Gaël Monfils in 2016.
The most unexpected name is Spain’s Rafael Jodar, 20, who was playing college tennis in the United States a year ago and took the last place in the field.
How it works
The eight players will be drawn into two groups of four on Thursday, with Zverev and Alcaraz heading one group each. The top two in each group reach the semi-finals, and the final is on November 22 at the Inalpi Arena. The tournament carries prize money of $15.75 million, with up to $5.171 million for an unbeaten champion.
