ATP Finals facts for kids
Quick facts for kids ATP Finals |
|
|---|---|
| 2025 ATP Finals | |
| ATP World Tour | |
| Founded | 1970 |
| Location | Turin, Italy (2021–2028) |
| Venue | Palasport Olimpico |
| Category | Year-end championships |
| Surface | Hard (indoor) |
| Draw | 8 singles / 8 doubles |
| Prize money | US$15,250,000 (2024) |
| Website | nittoatpfinals.com |
| Current champions (2025) | |
| Singles | |
| Doubles | |
The ATP Finals is a super exciting tennis tournament that happens at the end of each year! It's like the grand finale for the best male tennis players and doubles teams in the world. Only the top eight singles players and top eight doubles teams get to play, based on how well they did throughout the whole tennis season. It's considered the most important tennis event after the four big Grand Slam tournaments.
This tournament has a special way of playing that's different from most other tennis events. Players and teams are put into two groups of four. Each player or team plays everyone else in their group once. This is called a round-robin stage. After these group matches, the two best players or teams from each group move on to the semifinals. Then, it's a knock-out stage, meaning if you lose, you're out! The winners of the semifinals play in the final to decide who the champion is.
The ATP Finals started way back in 1970. A famous player named Novak Djokovic holds the record for winning the most singles titles, with seven wins! In doubles, the team of Peter Fleming and John McEnroe won seven titles in a row, which is an amazing record.
Winning this tournament is a huge deal! The champion can earn a lot of ranking points, up to 1,500, especially if they win all their group matches. For example, Jannik Sinner won the 2024 title and earned a record $4,881,100!
The Story of the Tournament
How it All Started
The ATP Finals has had a few different names since it began in 1970. It was first called the Masters Grand Prix and was a special event for the best players. Back then, it didn't give players any world ranking points.
In 1990, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) took over. They renamed it the "ATP Tour World Championships." This was a big change because, from then on, players could earn important world ranking points! If a player won all their matches, they could get 1500 points.
Later, in 2000, the ATP and another tennis group decided to work together. They created a new event called the "Tennis Masters Cup." This tournament kept the idea of having the top eight players and teams. It also had a cool rule: if a player won one of the big Grand Slam tournaments during the year, they could still get a spot in the Masters Cup, even if their ranking wasn't in the top eight. This special rule still exists today!
The tournament changed its name again in 2009 to the "ATP World Tour Finals" and was held in London at The O2 Arena for many years. In 2017, it became simply the "ATP Finals." Since 2021, the tournament has been held in Turin, Italy, and will continue there until at least 2028.
Here's a quick look at the tournament's names over the years:
| Years | Championships name |
|---|---|
| 1970–89 | Masters Grand Prix |
| 1990–99 | ATP Tour World Championships |
| 2000–08 | Tennis Masters Cup |
| 2009–16 | ATP World Tour Finals |
| 2017– | ATP Finals |
Where it's Played and How it's Changed
Most of the time, the ATP Finals is played indoors. This means the weather doesn't affect the games, and the court is always perfectly lit. While it's usually played on hard courts, sometimes in the past, different surfaces like carpet or even grass were used.
For many years, the doubles tournament was held separately, a week after the singles matches. But now, both the singles and doubles events happen at the same time and in the same place, which is great for fans!
In 2020, a cool new technology called electronic line-calling was introduced. Instead of human line judges, cameras and computers (like Hawk-Eye Live) decide if a ball is in or out. A recorded voice even announces the calls! This helps make the games super fair and accurate.
Big companies often sponsor the tournament. For example, Nitto Denko has been the main sponsor for several years, helping to make the event possible.
How Players Qualify
It's a big achievement just to qualify for the ATP Finals! Here's how players and teams earn their spot:
- The top seven players and doubles teams in the ATP Race rankings automatically get a spot. The ATP Race tracks how many points players earn throughout the year.
- There's a special eighth spot! If a player or team won one of the four big Grand Slam tournaments during the year and is ranked between 8th and 20th, they get this spot. This means winning a Grand Slam is super important!
- If more than one player outside the top seven won a Grand Slam, the one with the higher ranking gets the special eighth spot.
- If no Grand Slam winner is ranked between 8th and 20th, then the player ranked 8th in the ATP Race gets the final spot.
There are also two "alternates" who come to the tournament. These are players who are next in line if someone has to drop out because of an injury or for another reason. If an alternate plays, their results count on their own, not for the player they replaced.
How the Games are Played
The ATP Finals has a unique format that keeps things exciting!
- The eight singles players and eight doubles teams are split into two groups of four.
- Each player or team in a group plays against every other player or team in their group once. These are called round-robin matches.
- After all the group matches are played, the top two players or teams from each group move on to the semifinals.
- The semifinals are knock-out matches. If you lose, you're out!
- The winners of the semifinals then play in the big final match to decide the champion!
To make the groups fair, players and teams are "seeded" based on their ranking. The top two players are placed in different groups. Then, the other players are drawn in pairs to fill the remaining spots in the groups.
How Group Winners are Decided
After the round-robin matches, we need to figure out who moves on to the semifinals. Here's how they decide who is first, second, and so on in each group:
- First, they look at who won the most matches.
- If players have won the same number of matches, they look at who played more matches (for example: a player with 1 win and 2 losses is ranked higher than a player with 1 win and 1 loss who retired from a match).
If there's still a tie between players, they use these rules:
- If two players are tied: The player who won their match against the other tied player goes ahead.
- If three players are tied: This is a bit trickier! They look at:
* The highest percentage of sets won (how many sets they won compared to how many they played). * If still tied, the highest percentage of games won (how many games they won compared to how many they played). * If still tied, the player with the highest ranking at the start of the tournament.
If a player has to stop a match early (retires), it counts as a 0–2 sets loss for them for tie-breaking purposes. When calculating the "Highest % of games won" tiebreaker, a match that ended in a retirement is not counted.
Places Where the Finals Have Been Held
The ATP Finals has traveled to many different cities around the world! It's mostly an indoor event, but a few times it was played outdoors.
| Years | City | Surface | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Carpet (i) | Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium | 6,500 | |
| 1971 | Hard (i) | Stade Pierre de Coubertin | 5,000 | |
| 1972 | Palau Blaugrana | 5,700 | ||
| 1973 | Boston Garden | 14,900 | ||
| 1974 | Grass | Kooyong Stadium | 8,500 | |
| 1975 | Carpet (i) | Kungliga tennishallen | 6,000 | |
| 1976 | The Summit | 16,300 | ||
| 1977–1989 | Madison Square Garden | 18,000 | ||
| 1990–1995 | Festhalle Frankfurt | 12,000 | ||
| 1996–1999 | Carpet (i) Hard (i) |
Hanover Fairground | 15,000 | |
| 2000 | Hard (i) | Pavilhão Atlântico | 12,000 | |
| 2001 | Sydney SuperDome | 17,500 | ||
| 2002 | SNIEC | 10,000 | ||
| 2003–2004 | Hard | Westside Tennis Club | 5,240 | |
| 2005–2008 | Carpet (i) Hard (i) |
Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena | 15,000 | |
| 2009–2020 | Hard (i) | The O2 Arena | 20,000 | |
| 2021–2026 | Palasport Olimpico | 12,000 | ||
| 2027–2030 | Hard (i) | TBD | TBD |
Prizes and Trophies
Winning the ATP Finals comes with amazing rewards, including prize money, ranking points, and beautiful trophies!
The 2025 ATP Finals had a total prize money pool of $15,550,000! Here's how the points and money were awarded (doubles prize money is per team):
| Stage | Singles | Doubles | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Final win | $2,367,000 | $356,800 | 500 |
| Semi-final win | $1,183,500 | $178,500 | 400 |
| Round-robin match win | $396,500 | $96,600 | 200 |
| Participation fee | 3 matches = $331,000 2 matches = $248,250 1 match = $165,500 |
3 matches = $134,200 2 matches = $100,650 1 match = $67,100 |
N/A |
| Alternates | $155,000 | $51,700 | N/A |
| Undefeated Champion | $5,071,000 | $959,300 | 1,500 |
- An undefeated champion (someone who wins every match) earned the maximum 1,500 points and a huge $5,071,000 in singles or $959,300 in doubles!
Players also received the special ATP Finals trophy and the ATP year-end No. 1 trophy if they finished the year as the top-ranked player. These trophies are made by famous silversmiths in London.
Past Finals
Singles Champions
| Location | Year | Champions | Runners-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo | 1970 | Round robin | ||
| Paris | 1971 | Round robin | ||
| Barcelona | 1972 | 6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 2–6, 6–3 | ||
| Boston | 1973 | 6–3, 7–5, 4–6, 6–3 | ||
| Melbourne | 1974 | 7–6(8–6), 6–2, 3–6, 3–6, 6–4 | ||
| Stockholm | 1975 | 6–2, 6–2, 6–1 | ||
| Houston | 1976 | 5–7, 6–2, 0–6, 7–6(7–1), 6–1 | ||
| New York City | 1977 | 6–4, 1–6, 6–4 | ||
| 1978 | 6–7(5–7), 6–3, 7–5 | |||
| 1979 | 6–2, 6–2 | |||
| 1980 | 6–4, 6–2, 6–2 | |||
| 1981 | 6–7(5–7), 2–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–2, 6–4 | |||
| 1982 | 6–4, 6–4, 6–2 | |||
| 1983 | 6–3, 6–4, 6–4 | |||
| 1984 | 7–5, 6–0, 6–4 | |||
| 1985 | 6–2, 7–6(7–4), 6–3 | |||
| 1986 | 6–4, 6–4, 6–4 | |||
| 1987 | 6–2, 6–2, 6–3 | |||
| 1988 | 5–7, 7–6(7–5), 3–6, 6–2, 7–6(7–5) | |||
| 1989 | 4–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–3, 6–1 | |||
| Frankfurt | 1990 | 5–7, 7–6(7–5), 7–5, 6–2 | ||
| 1991 | 3–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–3, 6–4 | |||
| 1992 | 6–4, 6–3, 7–5 | |||
| 1993 | 7–6(7–3), 2–6, 7–6(9–7), 6–2 | |||
| 1994 | 4–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–4 | |||
| 1995 | 7–6(7–3), 6–0, 7–6(7–5) | |||
| Hanover | 1996 | 3–6, 7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–4), 6–7(11–13), 6–4 | ||
| 1997 | 6–3, 6–2, 6–2 | |||
| 1998 | 3–6, 3–6, 7–5, 6–3, 7–5 | |||
| 1999 | 6–1, 7–5, 6–4 | |||
| Lisbon | 2000 | 6–4, 6–4, 6–4 | ||
| Sydney | 2001 | 6–3, 6–3, 6–4 | ||
| Shanghai | 2002 | 7–5, 7–5, 2–6, 2–6, 6–4 | ||
| Houston | 2003 | 6–3, 6–0, 6–4 | ||
| 2004 | 6–3, 6–2 | |||
| Shanghai | 2005 | 6–7(4–7), 6–7(11–13), 6–2, 6–1, 7–6(7–3) | ||
| 2006 | 6–0, 6–3, 6–4 | |||
| 2007 | 6–2, 6–3, 6–2 | |||
| 2008 | 6–1, 7–5 | |||
| London | 2009 | 6–3, 6–4 | ||
| 2010 | 6–3, 3–6, 6–1 | |||
| 2011 | 6–3, 6–7(6–8), 6–3 | |||
| 2012 | 7–6(8–6), 7–5 | |||
| 2013 | 6–3, 6–4 | |||
| 2014 | walkover | |||
| 2015 | 6–3, 6–4 | |||
| 2016 | 6–3, 6–4 | |||
| 2017 | 7–5, 4–6, 6–3 | |||
| 2018 | 6–4, 6–3 | |||
| 2019 | 6–7(6–8), 6–2, 7–6(7–4) | |||
| 2020 | 4–6, 7–6(7–2), 6–4 | |||
| Turin | 2021 | 6–4, 6–4 | ||
| 2022 | 7–5, 6–3 | |||
| 2023 | 6–3, 6–3 | |||
| 2024 | 6–4, 6–4 | |||
| 2025 | 7–6(7–4), 7–5 |
Doubles Champions
| Location | Year | Champions | Runners-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo | 1970 | Round robin | ||
| 1971–1974: Not Held | ||||
| Stockholm | 1975 | Round robin | ||
| Houston | 1976 | 6–3, 5–7, 5–7, 6–4, 6–4 | ||
| New York City | 1977 | 7–5, 7–6, 6–3 | ||
| 1978 | 6–4, 6–2, 6–4 | |||
| 1979 | 6–3, 7–6, 6–1 | |||
| 1980 | 6–4, 6–3 | |||
| 1981 | 6–3, 6–3 | |||
| 1982 | 7–5, 6–3 | |||
| 1983 | 6–2, 6–2 | |||
| 1984 | 6–3, 6–1 | |||
| 1985 | 6–1, 7–6(7–5) | |||
| London | 1986 | 6–3, 7–6(7–2), 6–3 | ||
| 1987 | 6–4, 7–5, 6–7(5–7), 6–3 | |||
| 1988 | 6–4, 6–3, 2–6, 6–0 | |||
| 1989 | 7–5, 7–6(7–4), 5–7, 6–3 | |||
| Gold Coast | 1990 | 6–4, 7–6(7–5), 5–7, 6–4 | ||
| Johannesburg | 1991 | 6–4, 6–4, 2–6, 6–4 | ||
| 1992 | 6–2, 7–6(7–4), 5–7, 3–6, 6–3 | |||
| 1993 | 7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–5), 6–4 | |||
| Jakarta | 1994 | 6–4, 4–6, 4–6, 7–6(7–5), 7–6(8–6) | ||
| Eindhoven | 1995 | 7–6(8–6), 7–6(8–6), 3–6, 7–6(7–2) | ||
| Hartford | 1996 | 6–4, 5–7, 6–2, 7–6(7–3) | ||
| 1997 | 6–3, 6–4, 7–6(7–3) | |||
| 1998 | 6–4, 6–2, 7–5 | |||
| 1999 | 6–3, 6–2, 6–2 | |||
| Bangalore | 2000 | 7–6(10–8), 6–3, 6–4 | ||
| 2001 |
6–7(6–8), 7–6(7–2), 6–4, 6–4 | |||
| 2002 Not held | ||||
| Houston | 2003 | 6–7(6–8), 6–3, 3–6, 7–6(7–3), 6–4 | ||
| 2004 | 4–6, 7–5, 6–4, 6–2 | |||
| Shanghai | 2005 | 6–7(6–8), 6–3, 7–6(7–4) | ||
| 2006 | 6–2, 6–4 | |||
| 2007 | 6–2, 6–3 | |||
| 2008 | 7–6(7–3), 6–2 | |||
| London | 2009 | 7–6(7–5), 6–3 | ||
| 2010 | 7–6(8–6), 6–4 | |||
| 2011 | 7–5, 6–3 | |||
| 2012 | 7–5, 3–6, [10–3] | |||
| 2013 | 7–5, 6–7(3–7), [10–7] | |||
| 2014 | 6–7(5–7), 6–2, [10–7] | |||
| 2015 | 6–4, 6–3 | |||
| 2016 | 2–6, 6–1, [10–8] | |||
| 2017 | 6–4, 6–2 | |||
| 2018 | 5–7, 6–1, [13–11] | |||
| 2019 | 6–3, 6–4 | |||
| 2020 | 6–2, 3–6, [10–5] | |||
| Turin | 2021 | 6–4, 7–6(7–0) | ||
| 2022 | 7–6(7–4), 6–4 | |||
| 2023 | 6–3, 6–4 | |||
| 2024 | 7–6(7–5), 7–6(8–6) | |||
| 2025 | 7–5, 6–3 | |||
List of Champions
- Current through 2025 ATP Finals (active players in bold).
Singles
|
Doubles
|
Records and Statistics
- Current through 2025 ATP Finals (active players in bold).
Singles Records
| # | Titles |
|---|---|
| 7 | |
| 6 | |
| 5 | |
| 4 |
| # | Consecutive titles |
|---|---|
| 4 | |
| 3 | |
| 2 | |
| # | Finals Played |
|---|---|
| 10 | |
| 9 | |
| 8 | |
| 6 |
| # | Matches Won |
|---|---|
| 59 | |
| 50 | |
| 39 | |
| 36 | |
| 35 |
| # | Editions Played |
|---|---|
| 17 | |
| 16 | |
| 13 | |
| 12 | |
| 11 | |
Doubles Records
| # | Titles |
|---|---|
| 7 | |
| 5 | |
| 4 | |
| # | Consecutive Titles |
|---|---|
| 7 | |
| 2 | |
| # | Finals Played |
|---|---|
| 7 | |
| 6 | |
| # | Matches Won |
|---|---|
| 42 | |
| 38 | |
| 34 | |
| 29 | |
| 25 | |
| # | Editions Played |
|---|---|
| 16 | |
| 15 | |
| 14 | |
| 12 | |
Youngest & Oldest Champions
| Singles | Youngest | 19 years, 10 months | 1978 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oldest | 36 years, 5 months | 2023 | ||
| Doubles | Youngest | 19 years, 10 months | 1978 | |
| Oldest | 40 years, 6 months | 2018 |
Special Achievements
Double Crown
- This means winning both the singles and doubles titles in the same year!
| Player | Year |
|---|---|
| 1978 (S–D), 1983 (S–D), 1984 (S–D) | |
| 1970 (S–D) |
Generations Double
- This is for players who won both the Next Gen Finals (for younger players) and the main ATP Finals.
| Player | Next Gen Finals | ATP Finals |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 2019 | |
| 2019 | 2024 |
Titles by Country
Singles Titles by Country
|
11
|
|
7
|
|
6
|
|
5
|
|
4
|
|
3
|
|
2
|
|
1
|
Doubles Titles by Country
Note: Titles won by a team of players from the same country count as one title, not two.
|
23
|
|
6
|
|
5
|
|
4
|
|
3
|
|
2
|
|
1
|
See also
In Spanish: ATP Finals para niños
- WCT Finals (1971–89)
- Grand Slam Cup (1990–99)
- ATP Finals appearances
- ATP Tour Masters 1000
- WTA Finals