TURIN/WASHINGTON, November 14, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)
After the best and brightest tennis stars of the ATP Tour gave their fans something to remember Friday night in Turin, Italy, shooting their iconic group photo at Piazza San Carlo, it’s time to turn attention to the Nitto ATP Finals. The Tour’s season-ending event, which is entering its 57th edition overall and sixth in Turin, begins Sunday afternoon in Inalpi Arena.
For the next eight days, from Nov. 15-22, the best eight singles players and top eight doubles teams will battle for end-of-the-season title honors. There’s plenty of prize money to divide among the players, a whopping $15,750,000. An undefeated singles champion will earn $5,171,000, while an undefeated doubles team will walk away with $959,300.
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Round-robin group play commences in the John McEnroe Group Sunday with two-time champion and this year’s No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany facing No. 8 seed Rafael Jodar of Spain at 2 p.m. Later, not before 8:30 p.m., No. 3 seed Ben Shelton of the United States will play No. 6 seed Arthur Fils of France. Both Jodar and Fils will be making their Nitto ATP Finals debuts.
Two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner of Italy is absent from this year’s tournament due to a season-ending knee injury that shut down his 2026 season after the Wimbledon Championships in July.
Meanwhile, doubles play in the Todd Woodbridge Group starts Sunday at 11:30 a.m., with defending champions and top seeds Harri Heliovaara of Finland and Henry Patten of Great Britain taking on No. 8 seeds Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos of Brazil. Then, not before 6 p.m., No. 4 seeds Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Mate Pavic of Croatia oppose No. 6 seeds Theo Arribage and Albano Olivetti of France.
Your 2026 Nitto ATP Doubles Finalists 🤝
#NittoATPFinals https://t.co/q5k3ewXi6y
— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 14, 2026
Zverev, who ascended to World No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings earlier this month, said during a pre-tournament news conference on Friday that his immediate focus is on the group stage – taking on Jodar, Shelton and Fils – rather than the possibility of facing World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, who is seeded second overall and tops in the Ivan Lendl Group. After all, Zverev, who won the Nitto ATP Finals event in 2018 and 2021, first needs to finish among the top two players to advance out of the John McEnroe Group to next weekend’s semifinals. Then, let the pundits have center stage prognosticating a possible Zverev-Alcaraz showdown.
“I think we shouldn’t disrespect anybody,” Zverev said, quoted by the ATP Tour website, downplaying his status as the pre-tournament favorite in his ninth appearance at the year-end ATP Tour extravaganza. “I don’t think about Carlos right now. I think about these three young gentlemen because we have a very strong group and everybody shows that they know how to play tennis, otherwise they would not be here.
“So, my focus is on them at the moment and then we see what will happen later in the week.”
All smiles at the trophy shoot 😄📸🏆
#NittoATPFinals https://t.co/d0JFCAHJu2
— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 13, 2026
Zverev, who takes an 18-12 lifetime win-loss record at the Nitto ATP Finals into this year’s event, comes in after enjoying a stellar season in which he won his first two major titles, at Roland-Garros and the US Open. He was also a Wimbledon finalist. Zverev is 1-0 lifetime against the 20-year-old Jodar.
“How will I approach this tournament? I will approach this tournament with joy,” said Zverev, who compiled a 65-18 win-loss record this season. “I will have fun playing here. I will enjoy being on this court. I will never take it for granted again to be at a spot with the best eight players in the world.”
Sunday’s Nitto ATP Finals order of play
Monday’s Nitto ATP Finals order of play
By the numbers
Alexander Zverev of Germany (2018, 2021) and Daniil Medvedev of Russia (2020) are the only previous winners of the Nitto ATP Finals in this year’s singles field.
“Quotable …”
“I am looking forward to another ATP Finals in Turin. Of course, we miss Jannik Sinner but we have a new World No. 1, Alexander Zverev, and he is from Germany. I am happy about that. We have Carlos Alcaraz coming off his victory in Paris. We have [Ben] Shelton, [Daniil] Medvedev and Italian Flavio Cobolli holding up the Italian flag. I am happy to watch.”
– Three-time Nitto ATP Finals champion Boris Becker, quote by the ATP Tour website, on the eve of this year’s event.
