Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are the only players who have secured places at the ATP Finals in Turin. Alcaraz qualified on July 8 after finishing runner-up at Wimbledon and Sinner clinched his spot on August 8. Alcaraz holds a commanding 2,590-point lead over Sinner following his US Open title run, making him the clear favourite to claim top-seed status.

With the Race to Turin cutoff sitting at 5,395 points, six places remain open. Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev are closing in and each need another 1,215 points to qualify. It remains to be seen if Djokovic will play should he qualify as he opted to skip the ATP Finals last year despite being the defending champion.

Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz, Alex de Minaur and Lorenzo Musetti currently occupy the other spots inside the top eight. Those ranked ninth and 10th after the regular ATP Tour season will travel to Italy as alternates. Jack Draper slipped out of the top eight after withdrawing from the US Open due to injury.

Felix Auger-Aliassime has moved up eight places to No 10 following his run to the US Open semi-final. He sits 365 points behind Musetti in eighth and is within reach alongside Shelton, Fritz and de Minaur.

Two ATP Masters 1000 tournaments remain before the Finals, with the Shanghai Masters next on the calendar and the Paris Masters at the end of October. Contenders can also earn significant points at ATP 500 events, notably the China Open, Japan Open, Swiss Indoors and Vienna Open.

Current Race to Turin standings (selected): 1. Carlos Alcaraz 10,540 points 2. Jannik Sinner 7,950 3. Novak Djokovic 4,180 (+2) 4. Alexander Zverev 4,180 (-1) 5. Ben Shelton 3,710 (-1) 6. Taylor Fritz 3,465 7. Alex de Minaur 3,145 (+1) 8. Lorenzo Musetti 3,070 (+1)

Also in contention: 9. Jack Draper 2,990 (-2) 10. Felix Auger-Aliassime 2,705 (+8) 11. Andrey Rublev 2,410 12. Casper Ruud 2,285 (-2) 13. Karen Khachanov 2,210 (-1) 14. Holger Rune 2,190 (-1) 15. Alexander Bublik 2,145 (+2).

Novak Djokovic appears set to qualify for the 2025 ATP Finals, a tournament he and others see as his clearest opportunity to gain the upper hand on Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz and add another major trophy to his collection of big titles. His bid for a first Grand Slam since the 2023 US Open ended in the US Open quarter-final, where he was beaten in straight sets by Alcaraz.

That loss extended a pattern: it is the third consecutive major in which Djokovic’s run has been ended by either Alcaraz or Sinner. He lost to Sinner in the semi-finals at both the French Open and Wimbledon, and earlier in the season he retired with an injury during his semi-final against Alexander Zverev at the Australian Open.

Last year, Sinner denied Djokovic in the Australian Open semi-final while Alcaraz beat him in the Wimbledon final. Djokovic did, however, record wins over Alcaraz this year in the Melbourne quarter-final and in the gold medal match at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Head-to-head records remain close: Djokovic leads Alcaraz 5-3, while Sinner holds a 6-4 advantage over Djokovic and has won their last five meetings.

Age is an acknowledged factor for the 38-year-old. “It will be very difficult for me in the future to overcome the hurdle of Sinner and Alcaraz in the best-of-five in the Grand Slams. I think I have a better chance [in] best of three, but best of five, it’s tough,” Djokovic said.

He added: “I’m, you know, not giving up on Grand Slams in that regard. Having said that, I’m going to continue fighting and trying to, you know, trying to get to the. To the finals and fight for another trophy at least, but, you know, it’s going to be a very, very difficult task.”

Djokovic has climbed two places in the ATP Race to Turin and sits third as Alcaraz and Sinner are already qualified. He currently has 4,180 points and needs roughly 1,000 more to reach the apparent cut-off of 5,395 points. The top five in the race read: 1. Carlos Alcaraz – 9,840 (Q) 2. Jannik Sinner – 7,950 (Q) 3. Novak Djokovic – 4,180 4. Alexander Zverev – 4,130 5. Ben Shelton – 3,710.

Having skipped the ATP Finals last year despite qualifying, Djokovic could reconsider; the season-ending event is best-of-three and runs for one week. He beat Sinner in the 2023 ATP Finals final to claim a record seventh title and also beat Alcaraz in that tournament’s semi-final.

“That’s a sentiment definitely after the Grand Slam season this year that, you know, not to say that I will skip Grand Slams. I mean, I still want to play Grand Slams, Grand Slam season, full Grand Slam season next year,” the tennis legend said.

“Well, let’s see whether that’s going to happen or not. But, you know, because Slams are Slams, you know, they are just different from any other tournament. They are the pillars of our sport, the most important tournaments we have.

“But yeah, I do fancy my chances a bit more in best of three, you know, I guess one-week tournaments or the Masters tournaments where you have almost two weeks with quite a few days between matches. So, you know, that could, that could serve me better in the matchups against them.”

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are the first two players confirmed for this season’s ATP Finals. Alcaraz secured his place in July and Sinner confirmed his spot in early August. Despite missing three months due to a doping ban, Sinner has amassed enough points to ensure he finishes no lower than seventh in the year-end rankings, mathematically guaranteeing a place at the season-ending championship alongside Alcaraz.

The ATP Finals uses a distinctive qualification and competition format. The top seven ranked players automatically qualify. The eighth spot is reserved for any player who wins a Grand Slam but is ranked between ninth and twentieth; if that does not occur, the eighth-ranked player takes the final place. Once the eight players are decided they are split into two groups of four for round-robin play, with each player contesting three matches. The top two from each group then progress to the semi-finals, which are played in a knockout format.

Since 2021 the tournament has been held in Turin at the Palasport Olimpico and will take place between November 9 and 16. The Finals could play a decisive role in the year-end No. 1 race: Alcaraz sits on 7,550 points to Sinner’s 6,010.

There is a notable gap beyond those two. Alexander Zverev has 3,690 points, Ben Shelton occupies fourth, Novak Djokovic is fifth, with Taylor Fritz and Jack Draper sixth and seventh. Alex de Minaur is in the uncertain eighth spot; that would be sufficient for entry provided no player ranked between ninth and twentieth wins the US Open.

Sinner won his first ATP Finals trophy last season, defeating Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4 in the final. He had reached the final in 2023 but lost to Novak Djokovic. Djokovic remains the tournament’s most successful player, having won the event seven times, including four consecutive titles between 2012 and 2015.

The women contest their equivalent at the WTA Finals, where the top eight compete in a group stage before a knockout phase. Aryna Sabalenka is currently the only woman qualified.