The ATP Finals is the spectacular season-ending climax to the men's professional tennis tour, a tournament reserved exclusively for the year's most elite performers. It’s a high-stakes, high-reward event where the world's top eight singles players and top eight doubles teams battle for one of the sport's most prestigious titles and a massive share of prize money. With the 2025 edition on the horizon, BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team breaks down everything you need to know about how it works, who is likely to be playing, the eye-watering financial rewards, and the legends who have etched their names into its history.
What are the ATP Finals?
The ATP Finals, often referred to as the Nitto ATP Finals due to its title sponsorship, is the final tournament of the ATP Tour season. Unlike a standard knockout event, it features a round-robin stage, ensuring that the best players get multiple matches against their fiercest rivals. To qualify, players accumulate points throughout the entire season at Grand Slams, ATP Tour tournaments, and ATP Masters 1000 events. Only the top eight players in the ATP Race To Turin (the official points race that runs from January to the end of the regular season) earn the right to compete. As the ATP itself states, "It’s the culmination of the men’s professional tennis season, featuring only the world’s best eight qualified singles players and doubles teams."
The Unique Tournament Format Explained
The format of the ATP Finals is what sets it apart and creates such intense drama from the very first ball. The eight qualifiers are divided into two groups of four for the round-robin stage. For the 2025 edition, the groups will likely again be named the Green Group and the Red Group. Each player competes in three matches against the other three players in their group. The player with the best record in each group (most wins, then highest percentage of sets and games won if tied) advances to the semi-finals.
The semi-finals then follow a crossover format: the winner of the Green Group plays the runner-up of the Red Group, and the winner of the Red Group plays the runner-up of the Green Group. The winners of these two semi-final matches then meet in the final to decide the champion. This structure guarantees a minimum of three matches for every competitor and a maximum of five for the champion, making it a brutal test of endurance and skill at the end of a long season.
Who is Playing in the ATP Finals 2025?
While the final field for the 2025 ATP Finals in Turin won't be confirmed until the autumn of 2025, based on current dominance and form, we can make strong predictions about the leading contenders. The usual suspects, the players who have dominated the sport in recent years, are expected to be at the forefront of the race.
The leading contenders for the 2025 field are widely expected to include:
- Carlos Alcaraz (Spain): The young phenom is a perennial favourite for any major title.
- Jannik Sinner (Italy): The home favourite and Grand Slam champion.
- Novak Djokovic (Serbia): The record-holder for most ATP Finals titles, always a threat.
- Alexander Zverev (Germany): A former champion and consistent top-level performer.
Other players likely to be in the mix include Daniil Medvedev, another former champion, and the rising stars of the game like Holger Rune. A key storyline will be whether any player can break through the established hierarchy to claim one of the eight coveted spots. As one analyst noted, "The battle for the seventh and eighth spots in Turin is often more dramatic than the tournament itself, with players jockeying for position right up until the final Masters event in Paris."
A Deep Dive into the Prize Money
The ATP Finals is not just about prestige; it's also the most lucrative tournament in tennis outside of the Grand Slams on a per-match basis. The total prize money pool for the 2024 tournament was a record $15,000,000, and it is anticipated to remain at a similar, if not higher, level for 2025. The financial rewards are structured to reward every victory, making each round-robin match worth a small fortune.
Here is a breakdown of the 2024 prize money, which serves as an accurate model for 2025:
- Participation Fee: $325,500 for playing in the first round-robin match.
- Round-Robin Win: $390,000 for each victory in the group stage.
- Semi-Final Win: $1,105,000 for reaching the final.
- Undefeated Champion Bonus: A player who wins the title without losing a match could earn over $4.8 million.
To put this into perspective, an undefeated champion earns more for five matches than the winners of the Australian Open or US Open do for seven, highlighting the incredible value placed on this season finale. The ATP emphasizes that "the prize money reflects the status of the event as the pinnacle of the ATP Tour season."
Past Winners and Historical Legends
The honour roll of ATP Finals champions is a who's who of tennis immortality. The tournament has a rich history, having been held in iconic cities like New York, Shanghai, and London before moving to its current home in Turin, Italy. The record for the most singles titles is fiercely contested and held by some of the greatest players to ever lift a racket.
The King of the Finals: Novak Djokovic
Currently, the record for the most ATP Finals titles is held by Novak Djokovic, who claimed his seventh crown in 2023, breaking a tie with his great rival, Roger Federer. Djokovic's mastery on indoor hard courts and his relentless consistency make him a perpetual threat. Reflecting on his record, Djokovic has said, "This is one of the most difficult tournaments to win. You're facing a top-8 player every single match, so to have won it seven times is something I'm incredibly proud of."
Other Notable Multiple Champions
- Roger Federer (Switzerland): 6 titles, a master of the event for over a decade.
- Pete Sampras (USA): 5 titles, dominating the 1990s.
- Ilie Năstase (Romania) & Ivan Lendl (Czechoslovakia): 5 titles each.
- Boris Becker (Germany) & John McEnroe (USA): 3 titles each, bringing immense charisma to the tournament.
Recent winners have included Alexander Zverev (2021 & 2018), Stefanos Tsitsipas (2019), and Daniil Medvedev (2020), showing that the new generation is more than capable of seizing the biggest titles. The 2024 champion will add their name to this storied list and set the stage for another dramatic battle in 2025.
Conclusion: The Ultimate Season Test
The ATP Finals is more than just another tournament; it is the ultimate test of a player's season-long consistency and their ability to perform under the brightest lights against the very best. With its unique round-robin format, staggering prize money, and a legacy defined by the sport's all-time greats, it provides a fittingly dramatic conclusion to the tennis calendar. As the ATP Tour culminates in Turin each November, fans are treated to a week of world-class tennis that not only crowns a champion but solidifies legacies. The 2025 edition promises to deliver all this and more.