ATP Tour

How Sinner, Alcaraz went from #NextGenATP champions to World No. 1 & who could follow

Anticipation is building for the 2025 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, and this year’s contenders know the track record is impossible to ignore.

The 20-and-under showcase has evolved from a glimpse of potential into a springboard for future champions, highlighted by names who have already reshaped the sport, such as Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, the current World No. 1 and No. 2.

The field for the eighth edition features Learner Tien, Alexander Blockx, Dino Prizmic, Martin Landaluce, Nicolai Budkov Kjaer, Nishesh Basavareddy, Rafael Jodar and Justin Engel, all chasing a trophy that now comes with prestige.

Sinner set the precedent in 2019, when he captured the title at the age of 18 and climbed to No. 1 five seasons later — becoming the first Italian to do so in the history of the PIF ATP Rankings. He has since amassed four major titles, offering early proof that the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF could be a powerful stepping stone, but Alcaraz’s story raises the bar slightly further.

The Spaniard also lifted the trophy at 18 — in the 2021 edition — and needed less than a year to become the youngest World No. 1 in history after winning the US Open in 2022 at 19 years and four months. Alcaraz, now a six-time major champion, has ensured that the leap from the #NextGenATP stage to the very top is undeniably possible.

_{^{Carlos Alcaraz beats Sebastian Korda for the 2021 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF title. Photo: Peter Staples/ATP Tour.}}

Last year in Jeddah, Joao Fonseca provided the most immediate recent example of fast progress. The Brazilian, who became just the third 18-year-old to triumph at the 20-and-under event, cracked the World’s Top 25 by claiming two ATP Tour titles in 2025, the season that directly followed his Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF debut.

Sinner, Alcaraz and Fonseca have reshaped how the event is perceived, but they are part of a broader picture rather than a guaranteed equation. Daniil Medvedev, who competed at the inaugural event in 2017, took a different route — slowly but equally deliberate — before lifting the US Open trophy in 2021 and rising to World No. 1 in 2022. Stefanos Tsitsipas won the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF in 2018 and then triumphed at the Nitto ATP Finals on his debut just 11 months later.

Last year’s finalist Tien has already experienced a powerful surge of his own. The American has climbed to a career-high No. 28 in the PIF ATP Rankings in 2025, highlighted by five wins over Top 10 players and his first ATP Tour title in Metz.

For Spaniards Landaluce and Jodar, the pathway is theirs to define, but the inspiration is immediate. Both have received advice from Alcaraz, while Landaluce has also benefitted from guidance at the Rafa Nadal Academy — insight that may not promise success, but helps soften the unknown that awaits.

This year’s field arrives not with certainty, but with evidence in view that the journey from the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF stage to the top of the sport is possible. For eight rising talents, Jeddah represents the first big test of whether possibility can become greatness.