Next Gen ATP Finals Preview

The NEXT GEN ATP Finals Begins tomorrow in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (Dec 18-22).

The 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals returns to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for the second consecutive year, marking the tournament’s seventh edition and showcasing the brightest rising stars in men’s tennis on the ATP Tour.

Former champions include Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Stefanos Tsitsipas, with this year’s event shifting from a 21-and-under to a 20-and-under format.

Leading the pack is World No.20 Arthur Fils of France, who aims to cap off a strong 2024 season and build momentum heading into 2025.

The tournament features an eight-player lineup divided into two groups of four. Each player competes in three round-robin matches, with the top two players from each group advancing to the knockout semi-finals and final.

Since its inception, the event has served as a testing ground for innovations in men’s tennis, such as electronic line-calling, a modified scoring system, in-match coaching, and other progressive changes. To heighten the drama and excitement, all matches follow a best-of-five sets format, with sets played to four games and a tiebreak at 3-3. The fast-paced matches feature sudden-death points at deuce, no on-court warm-up, and a strict eight-second limit between first and second serves, including after a let. Additionally, as in previous editions, the time between points is reduced from 25 to 15 seconds if the previous rally lasts fewer than three shots. The idea is that the tournament plays at a fast pace while using it as an experiment to test new rules.

The surface in Jeddah is a quick indoor hard court, which favors big servers/big hitters.

Now, let’s get into the field. The groups are as follows: 

Blue Group: (Age, Nationality, ATP end of year ranking)

• Arthur Fils (20 years old, France, ATP #20) 
• Jakub Mensik (19 years old, Czech, ATP #48) 
• Learner Tien (19 years old, America, ATP #122)
• Joao Fonseca (18 years old, Brazil, ATP #145) 

Red Group: (Age, Nationality, ATP end of year ranking)

• Alex Michelsen (20 years old, America, ATP #41) 
• Juncheng (Jerry) Shang (19 years old, China, ATP #50) 
• Nishesh Basavareddy (19 years old, America, ATP #138)
• Luca Van Assche (20 years old, France, ATP #128)

Arthur Fils, Alex Micheslen and Luca Van Assche competed in this event last year, where Fils lost in the final to Hamad Medjedovic. I watched this tournament for the second time last year and had a blast. The format, quick points and hungry players make it entertaining. On top of that, I was introduced to new players. It was my first time watching the likes of Hamad Medjedovic, Luca Nardi (defeated Djokovic at Indian Wells) and Flavio Cobolli, now ATP #32! 2024 was my first year following the Challenger tour on a more regular basis, so I am quite familiar with the players who didn’t see much of the ATP tour this season (Fonseca, Tien, Basavareddy and Van Assche). 

The challenger tour is similar to the minor leagues, say the G-League in Basketball or Triple A in Baseball. Its for players who are ranked around #100-#500, in which they don’t have a high enough ranking to enter ATP tour events. They typically get their name noticed if they receive a Wild Card to play in a home tournament (Rio for Fonseca) or happen to come through qualifiers at a high level event, say a Grand Slam or Masters 1000. In these events they would have to win two or three matches in a row to even get a place in the main draw. So, for players like Fonseca, Tien, Basavareddy and Van Assche, they are some of the top players on the Challenger tour, racking up multiple Challenger titles in 2024. The Next Gen Finals will offer great opportunity to make their names heard during a stand alone event. 

What will be most interesting to see is how some of these guys fare on a quick, indoor surface. From my memory of watching last year, this court is quite slick. That is great for big hitters and huge servers. It’s not the best for grinders, but it does allow them to redirect their opponents pace by using it against them. I want to do a quick breakdown of each player. It seems like motivation levels will vary this week, but an undefeated champion would bring home 500K! I don’t have a crazy opinion on who wins the event, but I will be rooting for Alex Michelsen!

Arthur Fils: 

Just an absurd prospect. Still only 20 years old and already up to world number 20. Took home two ATP 500 titles this season on European Clay in Hamburg and on the Hard court in Tokyo. This kid has it all when it comes to the game of Tennis. A silly athlete who possesses a lot of power from both wings. The serve is continuing to come along as well as his net game/presence. Fils brings a vicious attitude to the game which has caused him to derail at times. Many people are questioning his motivation this week as he arrived late and missed practices, but I think all these guys are here to win. He’s capable on all surfaces and will look to do more damage in 2025. 

Jakub Mensik: 

Still on the fence about being a Mensiko! But seriously, an awesome season for the 19 year old. He made his biggest mark of the season in February in Doha, where he made the final losing to Karen Khachanov. That week was the first time I got a chance to watch him play and I was truly impressed. Mensik has a huge frame, huge serve and is quite solid from the baseline, where I saw his effortless power on full display. I was particularly impressed with his backhand. I thought his mental was a little out of sorts this season but it will improve with experience! 

Learner Tien: 

This kid essentially destroyed everyone in his path from the Summer on in the US/North American Challenger swing. The only thing that could beat him was himself, because he was playing too much lol. If you win, you have to keep playing and fatigue caught up to him at times. This year he collected three Challenger Tour titles and at one stage hit a 28-match win streak. He is a lefty grinder that hates to miss and plays with heavy spin out of the forehand corner. I could see this as a tough tournament for him because he lacks exposure on these types of courts. The indoor courts in the US don’t resemble the slickness of the court in Jeddah. Plus, he’s playing flamethrower type of hitters that are going to pick on his backhand. I think Tien brings a great attitude to the game, I just worry his weapons won’t develop enough to make him a true threat on the ATP Tour. 

Joao Fonseca: 

Probably the most exciting player among the eight. This kid is so fun, so special. In his debut to the ATP tour he performed in front of a wild crowd in Rio, Brazil, making it to the third round after defeating Arthur Fils and Crisitan Garin. That was truly the first time I had a chance to watch him play and I was glued. To me, arguably the most fun forehand in men’s tennis and I’m not even joking (meanwhile the kid is 18 years old). Eye popping numbers from that side and his serve is slowly developing as well. I think it’s important to note that Joao enjoys having time on the ball, and unfortunately these conditions don’t allow for much of that. He brings a super fun approach to the game and plays with a lot of emotion, enjoys the crowd. Another player who doesn’t have much indoor experience so this week looks a bit like a question mark, but if his serve and forehand are firing, anything is possible. 

Alex Michelsen: 

A year ago, there was a lot of doubt in my mind about Michelsen as an ATP tour regular, yet here we are a year later as he sits inside the top 50. This kid works as hard as anyone on the tour and brings a huge presence to each match he plays. Where I doubted him the most was his mobility. He stands at 6 feet 4 inches and has a heavier base than most, but has continued to work at it and the progress has been evident. When I say a heavy base, I mean that his feet are heavy, so his change of direction isn’t as quick as others. His baseline game has been amazing and I struggle to pick a wing I prefer him more at, which is great! On top of that, his hands are so sneaky! I think it’s his most underrated asset that will continue to bring him more cheap points. I’m a huge fan of Alex and think it will be a great week for him! 

Juncheng Shang: 

Jerrrrrry! What a beauty, I love his game. A lefty from China, who has seen a bunch of success in his short ATP career. He just won his first ATP Title in Chengdu in a run where he defeated Bublik, Siafullin and Musetti in the final. His game has continued to develop where he uses both his spinny forehand and flat forehand as weapons to finish points. He relies on his consistency to fluster opponents and then drops in his flair when needed. He doesn’t have much experience on indoor hard courts so this will be a feeling out process, but I do expect him to come out of his group alongside Michelsen. Looking forward to another year of success in 2025!

Nishesh Basavareddy: 

I was a bit late to watching Nishesh this year, as the first time I got to see him play was during US Open Qualifiers. He has such a well rounded arsenal and brings such a neutral approach to the game. Of course, super competitive, but he doesn’t show much emotion throughout the course of his matches. He just committed to playing on the Tour, forgoing his eligibility at Stanford. He had an amazing Fall playing on the US Challenger swing, capturing his first Challenger title in Tiburon and another in Puerto Vallarta. He doesn’t have much experience on the slick indoor surface, but will continue to play his game and perform. I will be looking out for him next season to see if he develops a weapon that he can base his game around. Enjoy, Nishesh!

Luca Van Assche:

Last but not least, LVA. It was a truly difficult season for Luca as he plummeted down the rankings too often this year. He started it so well too, defeating Musetti in a five set battle at the Australian Open. Luca is a grinder, standing at 5 feet 10 inches, who relies on deflecting others’ pace. He also has great footwork and footspeed, similar to an Alex De Minaur. What I have always enjoyed the most about his game was his backhand. It’s super flat and has more pop than opponents would expect. He just bails out of rallies far too often and that can’t be the case given his playstyle. I still have high hopes for LVA, but others on the internet would disagree with me. I hope he can make a splash this week, having familiarity with the surface and conditions should give him confidence! Enjoy it, LVA!

I am looking forward to some high level exchanges between all of these guys!

I hope you enjoyed the article and as always feel free to reach out with thoughts or questions! 

Until next time…

-Simon