The NextGen ATP Finals is an annual men's professional exhibition tennis tournament organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for the best players of the season aged 20 years old or younger. The event debuted in 2017 at the PalaLido in Milan, where it was also staged for the next four editions, before it was moved to King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, beginning in 2023. From 2017 to 2023 the age threshold was 21 years and under.[1]
The tournament does not distribute points for the ATP rankings for the participants. The ATP does not count it as an official ATP Tour tournament victory, but matches count towards official win–loss season record. Prize money worth US $2,275,000 is distributed and counts to the players' totals. From the beginning, the tournament regularly has incorporated new and experimental features that may or may not be introduced into other tennis events later on. It pioneered the implementation of electronic line-calling (so called 'Hawk-Eye Live' completely replacing human line-judges) back in 2017.[2] Other experimental features include scoring systems different from recognized tennis matches, players communicating with their coaches via headphones, and so on.
History
Following a competitive bid process, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) announced that the Italian Tennis Federation, in association with the Italian Olympic Committee, would organise a new ATP tournament featuring the world's top 21-and-under singles players of the ATP Tour season. The first five editions of the Tournament were hosted in Milan, Italy from 2017 to 2022.[3] Already in the first year, a special circumstance occurred. The 20-year-old Alexander Zverev played such a successful season that he was qualified at the same time for the Next Generation ATP Finals and for the ATP Finals of the best eight players from 2017. As the events were dated close and scheduled directly one after the other, the Hamburg native opted for the latter option.[4]
In the 2024 season, the ATP announced an expansion of the Next Gen brand. In addition to lowering the age threshold from 21-and-under to 20-and-under, a Next Gen Accelerator Programme was introduced. This allows Next Gen labelled players who reach the top 350 of the ATP rankings up to 8 opportunities to enter the main draws of ATP Challenger Tour 125 and 100 events. Furthermore, those who reach the top 250 are provided a main draw entry for an ATP 250 event, along with two qualifying opportunities for them.[1]
Format
Played over five days, the format for the competition consists of two round robin groups, followed by the semi-finals and final. Played on a singles-only court, the competition features the best seven qualified 20-and-under players of the season, plus one wild card.[5]
Rules
A number of rule changes from the normal ATP format are used for the competition:[5]
Best of five sets
First to four games in each set
Tiebreak at 3-All
No-Ad scoring (server's choice in 2019, receiver's choice in 2018)
Lets on serve (in 2018 lets on serve were counted "in")
Live Electronic line calling/Hawkeye-Live (graphic shown on screens after a "close call")
Start match 4 minutes from entry of second player on court (5 minutes in 2018)
Shot clock to ensure 25-second rule, the shot clock is reduced to 15 seconds after a rally lasting less than 3 shots[6]
Maximum of one medical timeout per player per match
Coaches can talk to players through headsets
Public will be allowed to move around during a match (except at baselines)
Towel boxes at each baseline
Players can use wearable technology
Qualification
The Top 7 players in the Emirates ATP Race to Jeddah (formerly the Race to Milan) will qualify. The eighth spot will be reserved for a wild card, the winner of a qualifying tournament. Eligible players must be 20-and-under as of the end of that calendar year.[7]
Alternate (played from the beginning, original player withdrew before the tournament)
(R)
Withdrew during the tournament
(WC)
Entered as a Wildcard
(NP)
Did not play
↓Older format (2017–2018 only)↓
3rd
Won third place match
4th
Lost third place match
Note
When there are more than eight players listed for any year, it is usually due to withdrawal by one or more players because of injury. When a player withdraws early in the tournament, his place is filled by the next-highest qualifier. Participants are listed in order of number of appearances and best result. The 2020 edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Player
#
Best result
Years Year of best result underlined (Wins in bold)
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João Fonseca 
