ATP Race Update: Five spots remain as Novak Djokovic qualification chances under threat

We are getting into the final couple of months before the ATP Finals. The tournament will take place from November 15-22, leaving many players desperate to qualify. While three players have already sealed their spot, five more fortunate players can seize the initiative as the tennis heads to Asia.

Alexander Zverev stays top of the list with there little movement thanks to the lack of ATP tennis. He competed at the Laver Cup for Team Europe, an exhibition meaning that no ranking points were up for grabs.

Jannik Sinner continues to be out with a knee injury but has been qualified for some time, with Carlos Alcaraz also joining the duo in the ATP Finals in November. The ATP Race for Turin may be over for these three, but for the rest there is so much up for grabs.

Ben Shelton is in a very good position to qualify for the event after making his debut last time out. One more deep run should do the trick, but it seems sooner rather than later for the American No.1

From fifth, it is much closer. Flavio Cobolli, Frances Tiafoe and Arthur Fils have not ever participated in the ATP Finals but are in provisional positions for the time being. Deep Grand Slam runs for Cobolli and Tiafoe have put them in contention, with Fils mustering up a consistent string of results over 2026 but must come through qualifying to compete in the Japan Open. It woul be a big blow if he fails to do this unorthordox task.

Daniil Medvedev is currently in action, set to clash against Andrey Rublev for the Hangzhou Open title. This is crucial with the Russian bolstering his position in eighth, the final qualifying spot. After qualifying for every year since 2019, 2025 marked the end of that streak. He had not set 2026 alight, but he is very much in the hunt.

Rafael Jodar trails him by over 400 points. Taylor Fritz reached the final in 2024 but a slow start to the year could be costly, and it was not helped with early exits in the North American hardcourt swing.

Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alex de Minaur both featured last year but are currently in 12th and 13th. This is very surprising after looking at their fast starts to the year. They have not been able to continue that form; it may pay the price.

From 2007, Novak Djokovic has qualified for every ATP Finals event aside from one (2017 – injury). While he has not competed since taking home the glory in 2023, he has not played that much tennis, and recent early exits leave him miles off the pace in 15th.

(as of livetennis.eu)