Learner Tien confirmed, as Fonseca out: Who else joins the confirmed players in the Next Gen ATP Finals?

he Next Gen ATP Finals are shaping up as the last major ATP event before the end of the year and already have three stars confirmed in their lineup. The tournament, which will be played from December 17 to 21 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, will be headlined by the 2025 Miami Open champion Jakub Mensik, while Joao Fonseca has confirmed his withdrawal from the tournament.

This will be the 8th edition of the tournament that gathers the 9 best players of the season aged 20 or younger. In the past, it has featured champions like Jannik Sinner (2019) and Carlos Alcaraz (2021), while the most recent editions played in Jeddah featured Hamad Medjedovic and João Fonseca as champions.

The first player confirmed a few days ago was Mensik, whose qualification had been known for some time, but official confirmation was pending. In previous years, players who meet the age requirement but are already highly ranked have opted to withdraw from the tournament. Such was the case for Alcaraz and Rune in 2023—both already in the Top 10, just like Sinner and Felix Auger-Aliassime in 2021, who had established themselves among the best before the age of 21.

While the 2024 draw only had one Top-30 player (France's Arthur Fils, No. 20 at the start of the tournament), this time there will be two: Mensik (No. 19) and the American Learner Tien (No. 28). Mensik is a Masters 1000 champion, while Tien arrives with the ATP 250 Metz Open title and a final appearance at the ATP 500 Beijing Open among his major achievements in 2025. Both players also accumulated several wins against Top 10 players: 4 for the Czech and 5 for the American. Tien also reached the 2025 Next Gen final, where, as the 5th seed (No. 123), he ultimately fell to Fonseca—the youngest player that year at 18 and the lowest-ranked at No. 145.

The Belgian Alexander Blockx, 20, and currently World No. 115 in the ATP Rankings, also joined this week. He won the Bratislava Challenger (CH125) and Oeiras Challenger (CH100), was a finalist in Winnipeg (CH75), and a semi-finalist in Granby (CH75), among others. He is a former Junior World No. 1 in singles and doubles, the 2023 Australian Open Junior champion, and doubles finalist—partnering with Fonseca and losing the final to the duo of Tien and Cooper Williams.

Joao Fonseca's return to the Next Gen ATP Finals was anticipated to be improbable, given his rise to World No. 24 in the rankings after a remarkable year that put him among the best. The Brazilian won two titles: Buenos Aires (ATP 250)—against Francisco Cerúndolo—and Basel (ATP 500)—overcoming Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Fonseca completed a phenomenal season with a 26-16 record. He earned respect on the Tour after his first Top 10 win earlier this year against Andrey Rublev at the Australian Open, while also reaching the Round of 32 in three Grand Slams (Australia, Roland Garros, and Wimbledon), in addition to his first appearance at the Laver Cup.

The first three players are now confirmed for the Next Gen ATP Finals, leaving five other spots to be determined. Although several weeks of competition remain, three names appear close to securing their place.

The Croatian Dino Prizmic (No. 127) looks like the next player who could confirm his attendance. He is the 2023 French Open Junior champion and made his first appearance this year in the US Open first round, where he fell to 15th seed Andrey Rublev. At 19, he won two Challenger titles and reached four other finals, along with some ATP-level appearances.

He is followed by the Spaniard Martín Landaluce (No. 134), winner of the Orleans Challenger 125 and who has found consistency on the Challenger Tour. At 16, he won the US Open Junior title back in 2022—becoming the third youngest winner after Richard Gasquet and Felix Auger-Aliassime. He is another former Junior No. 1 who narrowly missed debuting at the Next Gen Finals last year.

Another player in a good position is the Norwegian Nicolai Budkov Kjær (No. 132), seventh in the Race with a lead of over 100 points over the 8th spot. Like Prizmic and Landaluce, he is not mathematically confirmed, though it would be an absolute surprise if any of them were dropped at the last minute. The Norwegian was the Wimbledon Junior champion and US Open finalist—both in 2024—while this year he won his first Challenger and had strong performances in the Davis Cup with Norway, where he is established as the second singles player behind Casper Ruud.

Thus, the final two spots remain a mystery, although for now the qualifiers would be Nishesh Basavareddy (No. 166) and Rafael Jodar (No. 167). The American competed in the Next Gen in 2024, being eliminated in the Round Robin, and left several good impressions this year—wins against players like Alejandro Tabilo, Alex Michelsen, and a memorable performance against Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open—where he managed to steal a set from the 24-time major champion.

On the other hand, the Spaniard recently won his third title of the season in Charlottesville and has grown consistently in the rankings from No. 895 at the beginning of the year to the Top 200. He is the 2024 US Open Junior champion and would benefit from Fonseca's absence to qualify for the Finals, despite finishing 9th in the Race.

The names that could potentially be added include Japan's Rei Sakamoto (No. 150), Germany's Justin Engel (No. 182), and Belgium's Giles Arnaud Bailly (No. 206).