The ATP Next Gen Finals, established seven years ago, serves to spotlight the best performing players aged 21 and under from each season. The tournament was the first to implement electronic line calling and a video review system, with a unique scoring system designed to have less games with less at stake and more games at the “business end” of sets. The tournament has adapted slightly since its 2017 conception, with the age cut-off now reduced to 20 to accomodate for players making their mark at this age. This year’s event will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, serving as a pre-season event for 2025, though the eight qualifiers remain undetermined.
The leading contenders for qualification are Arthur Fils and Alex Michelsen. Fils, the Frenchman, reached the Wimbledon fourth round and won his first 500-level ATP event, while American Michelsen sits at a personal best ranking of No. 47 after reaching the finals in Newport, Rhode Island, and Winston-Salem. Other contenders include Shang Juncheng (China), Jakub Mensik (Czech Republic) and Luca Van Assche (France). The final three potential qualifiers are Joao Fonseca (Brazil), Learner Tien (USA), and Lithuania’s Vilius Gaubas, closely trailed by Portugal’s Henrique Rocha and Coleman Wong of Hong Kong.
Despite the reduction in the age cut-off, the tournament has had significant success in identifying future stars of the sport, with the winners of the Next Gen Finals including household names like Chung Hyeon, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jannik Sinner, and Carlos Alcaraz, to name just a few. The event is praised for its role in granting young players exposure, introducing new innovations, and presenting a unique and distinctive feel due its list of past winners and alternate rules. The event is considered a core part of the ATP calendar.
Discussion has piqued around the idea of a similar tournament on the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour in Saudi Arabia. The WTA Finals will be hosted in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, and if a Next Gen-type event is to proceed, the WTA would need to deliberate the appropriate age cutoff. Presently, there are 11 players aged 21 and under in the top 100 and six players under 20, suggesting an event dedicated to them could be feasible.
The WTA does have a history of hosting such events, with the Future Stars event running from 2014-2018 to showcase some of the best young female players of the time. The former event was region- and invitation-based, hosting players no older than 23. A modern equivalent to this could stimulate excitement and engagement, much like the ATP’s Next Gen Finals has done, particularly with involvement of stars like Carlos Alcaraz.
The Next Generation series is just one way that the future of tennis is being explored and cultivated. With tournaments like the ATP Next Gen Finals and potentially a future WTA equivalent, there is an ongoing effort to spotlight and support rising talent in tennis worldwide. It will be exciting to watch these events unfold and the stars rise to the top, carving a place for themselves in the professional world of tennis.
