Joao Fonseca announced earlier this week that he will withdraw from next month’s NextGen ATP Finals.
At the end of a long first full season on tour and having already won last year’s tournament, Fonseca’s decision comes as no surprise. The 19-year-old has reported an injury, but he probably just wants to rest before the 2026 season starts in Australia. Fonseca will play an exhibition event against Carlos Alcaraz in Miami on December 8.
The NextGen ATP Finals will take place from December 17 to 21 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Like the Nitto ATP Finals, it is a prestigious year-end championship for the top eight – in this case only for players who are 20 years old or younger.
Jakub Mensik, who is number 1 in the race to Jeddah ahead of Fonseca, has confirmed his participation.
“I am super happy and super excited to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals for the second time,” said Mensik. “The whole year was really good for me, winning my first ATP title with the Masters 1000 in Miami. It was a really great run and makes it even more special to end the year as a top-20 player. I’m very excited to see you in Jeddah in December.”
The 19-year-old Czech went winless in group play last year, despite being in a brutal group with Fonseca, Arthur Fils and Learner Tien. Mensik lost to both Fonseca and Tien in the fifth set tiebreaks. All five of his sets against Fonseca were decided by breakers.
Other players currently in qualifying position for the 2025 NextGen ATP Finals are Tien, Alexander Blockx, Dino Prizmic, Martin Landaluce, Nikolai Budkov Kjaer, Nishesh Basavareddy and Rafael Jodar.
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