Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah: Where Tennis’s Future Stars Compete

The Next Gen ATP Finals holds a unique position in professional tennis. It is the only official ATP event dedicated exclusively to the sport’s youngest elite players — those aged 20 and under — and since 2023, it has called Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, home. Hosted at King Abdullah Sports City through at least 2027, the tournament has become the proving ground where the next generation of Grand Slam champions earn their first taste of season-ending championship tennis. When the event moved to Jeddah in 2023, it became the first official professional tennis event ever held in Saudi Arabia, predating even the WTA Finals’ arrival in Riyadh by a full year.

The significance of the Next Gen ATP Finals extends beyond its roster of young competitors. Previous champions of the event include Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jannik Sinner, and Carlos Alcaraz — three players who went on to win Grand Slam titles and reach the top of the world rankings. The tournament has proven itself as a remarkably accurate predictor of future greatness, and its relocation to Saudi Arabia positions the Kingdom at the very beginning of the talent pipeline that produces tennis’s biggest stars.

History and Evolution

The Next Gen ATP Finals was launched in 2017, originally held in Milan, Italy. The concept was straightforward but innovative: create a season-ending championship for the ATP Tour’s best players aged 21 and under (later lowered to 20 and under in 2024), using a round-robin format followed by knockout semifinals and a final. The tournament served as a development platform, giving young players experience in a high-profile, year-end environment before they graduated to the main ATP Finals.

Milan hosted the event from 2017 through 2022, establishing it as a fixture on the tennis calendar. The tournament gained credibility rapidly, in large part because its champions kept ascending to the sport’s highest levels. Hyeon Chung won the inaugural edition in 2017, followed by Tsitsipas in 2018 — just months before the Greek reached the Australian Open semifinal. Sinner won in 2019, and Alcaraz took the 2021 title before exploding onto the global stage with his 2022 US Open victory and ascent to world number one.

The move to Jeddah in 2023 was part of Saudi Arabia’s comprehensive tennis investment strategy, managed through PIF’s subsidiary SURJ Sports Investment. The deal runs through at least 2027, giving the event a five-year home and providing Saudi Arabia with a permanent presence on the official ATP calendar — something the exhibition events in Riyadh and Diriyah, however prestigious, could not offer.

Format and Rules

The Next Gen ATP Finals uses a format that distinguishes it from virtually every other professional tennis event. Eight players compete in two round-robin groups of four, with the top two from each group advancing to knockout semifinals. The final determines the champion.

The most notable format innovation is the shortened set. Matches are played as best of five sets, but each set is first to four games (rather than the standard six), with a tiebreak at 3-3. This compressed format keeps matches shorter and more television-friendly while maintaining the drama of a five-set contest. The format encourages aggressive play — with fewer games per set, every point carries greater weight, and players cannot afford to coast through service games.

The age eligibility was lowered from 21 and under to 20 and under beginning with the 2024 edition, further sharpening the tournament’s focus on the sport’s youngest talent. This change meant that players who might previously have competed in two or three editions are now limited to a narrower window, increasing the tournament’s turnover and ensuring a consistently fresh field.

One important distinction: the Next Gen ATP Finals does not award ATP ranking points, but matches do count toward players’ official career win-loss records. This creates a peculiar status — the event is official enough to appear in statistical databases but does not directly affect the rankings that determine seedings, tournament entries, and career trajectories. The absence of ranking points is mitigated by the prestige of the event and its prize money, which exceeds $2 million.

The Jeddah Experience: King Abdullah Sports City

King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, commonly known as “The Jewel,” is a major multi-sport complex that provides the Next Gen ATP Finals with a world-class venue. The complex, which includes a 62,000-seat football stadium, indoor arenas, and training facilities, represents the kind of purpose-built sports infrastructure that Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in under Vision 2030.

The tennis facilities at King Abdullah Sports City offer indoor hard courts that meet ATP specifications, with seating capacity adequate for the Next Gen ATP Finals’ audience. The venue’s location in Jeddah — Saudi Arabia’s second-largest city and its commercial capital — provides a different geographic anchor than the Riyadh-based events (Six Kings Slam, WTA Finals), ensuring that Saudi Arabia’s tennis portfolio is distributed across multiple cities.

Jeddah’s position on the Red Sea coast and its role as the gateway to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina give it a cosmopolitan character distinct from Riyadh. The city has a longer history of international engagement, a larger expatriate community, and a cultural openness that has made it a natural home for sports events. The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (Formula 1) is also held in Jeddah, establishing the city as a dual pillar of the Kingdom’s sports strategy alongside Riyadh.

The 2023 Edition: Medjedovic’s Breakthrough

The first Next Gen ATP Finals held in Jeddah, in 2023, produced a champion whose name was unfamiliar to all but the most dedicated tennis followers. Hamad Medjedovic, a 20-year-old Serbian, defeated Arthur Fils of France in a five-set final, 3-4(6-8), 4-1, 4-2, 3-4(9-11), 4-1. The match was a fitting showcase for the tournament’s format — the compressed sets created dramatic swings in momentum, and the five-set structure rewarded physical fitness and mental resilience.

Medjedovic’s path to the title demonstrated the tournament’s role as a launchpad. The Serbian had been a relative unknown entering the event, ranked outside the top 100, but his aggressive baseline game and competitive fire carried him through a round-robin group and into the knockout rounds. His victory over Fils, who would go on to reach the top 30 and win multiple ATP titles, was a statement of intent.

The 2023 edition held additional historical significance as the first official professional tennis event in Saudi Arabia. While the Diriyah Tennis Cup had preceded it chronologically, that event was an exhibition with no official ATP sanction. The Next Gen ATP Finals was the real thing — an official ATP Tour event with all the infrastructure, regulations, and legitimacy that entailed. Its success in Jeddah validated Saudi Arabia’s capability to host official tour events and paved the way for the forthcoming ATP Masters 1000 tournament.

The 2024 Edition: Fonseca’s Arrival

The 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals, also in Jeddah, produced another champion whose trajectory would be worth watching. Joao Fonseca, a Brazilian teenager, defeated American Learner Tien in the final, 2-4, 4-3(10-8), 4-0, 4-2. Fonseca’s victory was notable for both its quality and its implications — the Brazilian had shown flashes of exceptional talent throughout the season, and the Next Gen ATP Finals victory confirmed his status as one of the sport’s most exciting young prospects.

The final between Fonseca and Tien represented an intriguing clash of styles and backgrounds. Fonseca’s powerful, aggressive game drew comparisons to Gustavo Kuerten, the last Brazilian to reach the pinnacle of men’s tennis. Tien, a young American with Vietnamese heritage, brought a contrasting style — patient, intelligent baseline play with exceptional movement. The match’s four-set conclusion, after Tien took the opening set, demonstrated Fonseca’s ability to adjust and impose his game under pressure.

The 2024 edition also marked the first year under the lowered age eligibility (20 and under, down from 21). This change had a noticeable effect on the field, excluding players who might otherwise have competed, and ensuring that the tournament maintained its focus on the absolute youngest tier of professional talent.

Alumni Who Became Champions

The Next Gen ATP Finals’ most compelling selling point is its track record of producing future Grand Slam champions. The list of notable past champions reads like a preview of tennis’s recent present and near future:

Stefanos Tsitsipas (2018 champion): Won the event at age 20, then reached the Australian Open semifinal just two months later. Went on to reach the 2021 French Open final, multiple Masters 1000 titles, and a career-high ranking of world number three. Tsitsipas’s Next Gen ATP Finals victory was the first major indicator that the Greek would become one of the sport’s leading figures.

Jannik Sinner (2019 champion): Won the event at age 18, the youngest champion in the tournament’s history at the time. Sinner’s victory preceded a meteoric rise that included multiple Masters 1000 titles, the 2024 Australian Open championship, and an ascent to world number one. His dominance at the Six Kings Slam — winning both the 2024 and 2025 editions — has its roots in the confidence and experience gained at the Next Gen ATP Finals.

Carlos Alcaraz (2021 champion): Won the event at age 18, then won the 2022 US Open at age 19 to become the youngest world number one in ATP history. Alcaraz’s subsequent Grand Slam victories at the 2023 and 2024 Wimbledon and the 2023 French Open confirmed him as the most prodigious talent of his generation. His Next Gen ATP Finals victory was, in retrospect, an early warning shot.

The pattern is clear: winning the Next Gen ATP Finals does not guarantee future Grand Slam success, but it correlates remarkably well. The tournament identifies players with the talent, competitive drive, and physical maturity to compete at the highest level, and then provides them with an experience — a season-ending championship with global media attention — that accelerates their development.

Prize Money and Financial Context

The Next Gen ATP Finals offers a total prize pool exceeding $2 million, a significant sum for a tournament restricted to players aged 20 and under. For young professionals still establishing themselves on tour, the financial reward is meaningful — it can fund a full season of travel, coaching, and training expenses.

The prize money must be understood in context. At the same stage in their careers, previous generations of young players had no comparable earning opportunity. The Next Gen ATP Finals creates a financial incentive for young players to perform well throughout the season — qualification is based on the ATP Race to Jeddah, which tracks points earned during the calendar year — and rewards those who do with a guaranteed payday and a spotlight event.

Saudi Arabia’s hosting of the event through at least 2027 ensures financial stability. PIF’s investment in the tournament provides a funding base that insulates the event from the commercial uncertainties that affect other tour events. This stability is particularly important for a tournament focused on young players, whose marketability and fan bases are still developing.

The Saudi Tennis Development Pipeline

The Next Gen ATP Finals’ presence in Jeddah is connected to Saudi Arabia’s broader tennis development strategy. The Saudi Tennis Federation, led by president Arij Almutabagani, has prioritized nurturing young players through grassroots programs, academy development, and international competition exposure.

The Tennis For All program, launched in 2022 in partnership with the Saudi Sports For All Federation, has introduced tennis to 30,000 young Saudis through 200 schools, with targets of reaching 400 schools and 60,000 participants. The program has been integrated into the Ministry of Education curriculum at public schools, ensuring systemic rather than ad hoc tennis development.

The Saudi Tennis Federation employs 505 coaches and 182 officials nationwide, providing the infrastructure necessary to identify and develop local talent. While Saudi Arabia does not yet have a player ranked in the ATP or WTA top 100, the Next Gen ATP Finals provides a visible, aspirational target for young Saudi players — proof that athletes their age can compete at the highest level of the sport.

The connection between the Next Gen ATP Finals and Saudi grassroots tennis is more than symbolic. The tournament’s presence in Jeddah creates opportunities for local players and coaches to observe elite-level tennis up close, attend training sessions and coaching clinics, and interact with the next generation of champions. These experiential benefits complement the formal coaching and development programs administered by the Saudi Tennis Federation.

Broadcast and Media Coverage

The Next Gen ATP Finals benefits from the ATP Tour’s global broadcast infrastructure, which distributes the event to television and streaming platforms worldwide. The tournament’s focus on young, emerging players creates natural media storylines — “who is the next Sinner or Alcaraz?” — that generate interest beyond the hardcore tennis audience.

PIF’s sponsorship extends to the event’s media profile. As the official naming partner of the PIF ATP Rankings, PIF ensures that its brand is associated with every rankings-related discussion throughout the tennis season, and the Next Gen ATP Finals represents the culmination of the season for the youngest players in those rankings.

The ATP has also developed digital content around the Next Gen ATP Finals, including player profiles, behind-the-scenes access, and social media campaigns that leverage the event’s youth appeal. The tournament’s young competitors tend to be more comfortable with digital media than their older peers, creating organic content opportunities that enhance the event’s visibility.

The Competitive Landscape for Young Players

The Next Gen ATP Finals exists within a broader competitive landscape for young tennis players. The junior Grand Slam events (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, US Open), the ITF junior tour, and Challenger-level tournaments all provide development opportunities. What distinguishes the Next Gen ATP Finals is its position at the intersection of development and elite competition — it is both a proving ground and a reward.

Qualification for the event requires consistent performance throughout the ATP season, which means that the eight participants have already demonstrated their ability to compete against established professionals. The round-robin format then provides each player with a minimum of three matches against peers of similar age and ability, creating a controlled competitive environment that is less likely to produce the kind of one-sided results that can occur when young players face top-20 opponents on the main tour.

The tournament also serves as a networking opportunity. Young players competing at the Next Gen ATP Finals are likely to face each other repeatedly over the next decade of their careers. The relationships and rivalries formed in Jeddah — Medjedovic versus Fils, Fonseca versus Tien — may develop into the defining matchups of the next era of men’s tennis.

Significance for Jeddah and Saudi Arabia

The Next Gen ATP Finals positions Jeddah as a key city in Saudi Arabia’s tennis strategy. While Riyadh hosts the headline events — the Six Kings Slam and WTA Finals — Jeddah provides the official ATP Tour presence that lends institutional legitimacy to the Kingdom’s tennis ambitions.

The forthcoming ATP Masters 1000 tournament, announced as part of a deal between SURJ Sports Investment and the ATP, will further elevate Saudi Arabia’s status on the official tour calendar. The Next Gen ATP Finals serves as a precursor and proof point — demonstrating that Saudi Arabia can successfully host an official ATP event with all the logistical, regulatory, and broadcast requirements that entails.

For Jeddah specifically, the Next Gen ATP Finals complements the city’s existing sports portfolio. The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix brings Formula 1 to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit each year, and the city has hosted major boxing events, football matches, and other sporting competitions. Tennis adds another dimension to Jeddah’s identity as a global sports destination, diversifying the city’s cultural and entertainment offerings in line with Vision 2030 objectives.

The five-year hosting agreement (2023-2027) provides a runway for Jeddah to develop its tennis audience and infrastructure. Unlike one-off events, the Next Gen ATP Finals’ annual return allows the city to build institutional knowledge, develop volunteer and operational capabilities, and cultivate a local fan base that can support future tennis events — including the potential ATP Masters 1000 tournament.

Key Facts at a Glance