The 2026 tennis season is only three weeks away, so the NextGen ATP Finals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia is more of a preseason preparation than an end-of-year tournament. It takes place Wednesday through Sunday, December 17-21. Jeddah is the host site for the third time after five years in Milan, Italy. The eight-man field at this 20 and under event includes Learner Tien, Alexander Blockx, Dino Prizmic, Martin Landaluce, Nicolai Budkov Kjaer, Nishesh Basavareddy, Rafael Jodar and Justin Engel.
Here are my three favorite picks to win the NextGen ATP Finals.
Student Ten
With Jakub Mensik and Joao Fonseca having withdrawn from the event, Tien is without a doubt the cream of the crop. He is also one of only two returning competitors, along with Basavareddy. Tien finished second behind Fonseca 12 months ago, so the 20-year-old American will take with him fond memories of a repeat performance in Jeddah. He lands at number 28 in the world and will almost certainly be seeded at the 2026 Australian Open.
Nishesh Basavareddy
Basavareddy is the only other participant who has experience in NextGen ATP Finals. The 20-year-old American also has Gilles Cervara in his corner after Cervara completed a nearly decade-long partnership with Daniil Medvedev this summer. Basavareddy slipped a bit to 167th in the world rankings after briefly peaking in the top 100 at No. 99 earlier in 2025, but he knows how to handle the big stage better than most of his peers.
Justin Angel
Outside of Ten, it’s probably worth looking at longshots – like Basavareddy and Engel – in a relatively wide open field of two through eight. Basavareddy and Engel also have the advantage of being in a significantly weaker Red Group, which gives them every chance of at least reaching the semi-finals. From there anything can happen. Engel, 18, is a German with great hitting power who already shows promise on faster surfaces such as grass and indoor hard courts.
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