NITTO ATP FINALS: THE LAST SHOWDOWN IN TURIN

The Nitto ATP Finals are a professional tennis event that takes place at the end of each season. By then, the best eight players and couples of the ranking, are qualified to compete in this event. Since 2021, the ATP Finals are held at the Indoor Tennis Hardcourt of the Inalpi Arena in Turin and will most likely stay there for a few more years. This year, I had the chance to go watch the semifinals in person, giving me a real involvement in the atmosphere. 

Nitto Denko Corporation Title Sponsorship 

Since 2017, the official name has been Nitto ATP Finals due to a title sponsorship with the Japanese manufacturing company, Nitto Denko Corporation. Their collaboration is crucial to the event’s overall identity and branding. In fact, Nitto’s representatives are always present. For example, at the semifinals, the Nitto Denko Corporation CEO, Hideo Takasaki, did the coin toss before the start of both matches.

Tournament Format and Points

Singles matches are contested as best-of-three tie-break sets. Doubles matches consist of two sets with no-ad scoring, and if teams split sets, a Match Tie-break determines the winner.

The eight qualifiers are divided in two groups. The top seed is assigned to Group A, the second to Group B, and the remaining players are allocated in pairs according to seeding. Each participant plays against the other three players in their group. The group winners are placed on opposite sides of the draw, while each runner-up faces the winner of the other group in the semifinals.

Fun fact: groups at the Nitto ATP Finals are named after tennis legends. For instance, this year the singles groups were called the Jimmy Connors Group and the Bjorn Borg Group, while the doubles groups were the Peter Fleming Group and the John McEnroe Group.

In terms of ATP points, players get 200 points for each win in the group stages, 400 points for a semifinal win and 500 points for winning the final. If the player goes undefeated, they can get a total of 1,500 points, which is a significant amount of points as it’s only 500 less than a grand slam, emphasizing the importance of this event.

The Eight Who Made It to Turin

The eight singles players who qualified for this year’s Nitto ATP Finals were:

Carlos Alcaraz. He qualified early with strong results at Grand Slams, winning both the French Open and the US Open.

Jannik Sinner. He arrived in Turin after a highly successful season, despite a three-month suspension due to the controversial Clostebol doping case. He won major titles, including Wimbledon and the Australian Open. His qualification was impactful, given strong home support in Italy.

Alexander Zverev. He returned to the year-end event after a solid season with many deep runs in major tournaments.

​Novak Djokovic. He qualified once again after a strong season despite his age. Notably, Djokovic won the ATP 250 event in Athens, defeating Lorenzo Musetti in the final. Musetti needed this win to qualify for Turin, but Djokovic’s victory prevented his entry. After the match, Djokovic reportedly told Musetti he would not participate in the ATP Finals, reflecting a strategic decision to manage his schedule at this stage of his career. Therefore, Lorenzo Musetti took his place at the event.

Ben Shelton. He qualified for the Finals for the first time after a breakthrough season with rapid progress on the tour.

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Taylor Fritz. He returned to the event by delivering consistent results throughout the season.

Alex de Minaur. He qualified for the Finals through consistent performance in major tournaments despite only winning one title this year.

Félix Auger-Aliassime. He secured the final qualification spot following a strong performance during the later stages of the season.

Key Results and My Experience 

There were several notable matches during this year’s ATP finals. However, the one that clearly stood out was the final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. These two players have both had a dominant season this year, separating themselves from the rest of the tour. Jannik Sinner, the defending champion, ended up beating Carlos Alcaraz 7-6, 7-5 in a long-fought battle to claim his second career ATP Finals title.

Other matches, such as Taylor Fritz vs Alex de Minaur and Alexander Zverev vs Félix Auger-Aliassime, were particularly important. These were the last matches of the group stages, and hence for the players, it decided whether they would be going to the semifinals. Surprisingly, both de Minaur and Auger-Aliassime produced upsets by defeating higher-ranked opponents.

As a result, the two semifinals were Jannik Sinner vs Alex de Minaur and Carlos Alcaraz vs Félix Auger-Aliassime. These were the two matchups I was lucky enough to watch live at the Inalpi Arena in Turin.

Attending in person gave me a totally different perspective from watching the event on television. The atmosphere was electric, with fans responding to every point. It was particularly fascinating to see everyone joining in and chanting “Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole, Sinner, Sinner” during the warm-up, after winning the first set and after winning the match, which gave Sinner a lot of confidence going into and through the finals.

I sat in the first row on the North Sector 101, which is amongst some of the best seats in the stadium. This gave me a real court-level perspective on the match. From this perspective, I noticed how significant the level of power and precision that Sinner and Alcaraz play at, which is hard to grasp just by watching the broadcast on television.

Logistically, the event was organised with an easy entry process and a clear arena layout. The lighting and screens inside the arena also played a huge role. The large screens created a sense of immersion throughout the matches. For example, after every ace, all the screens around me instantly displayed the word “ACE,” which energised the crowd. This feature arose from the “Un Ace per la Ricerca” initiative by Intesa Sanpaolo. The leading Italian banking group donated €500 for every ace during the semifinals (€1,000 for the finals and €100 during the group stages). The funds went to the Fondazione Piemontese per la Ricerca sul Cancro. This integration of sport and charity added an essential layer of significance to the Nitto ATP Finals.

The Numbers

This year’s ATP finals wasn’t only intense on court, but it also broke several records. Jannik Sinner took home $5.07 million which is the biggest winner’s cheque in men’s tour history. Across the whole week, the event saw 229,879 fans attending which was an all-time high. The atmosphere also extended beyond the stadium itself since the Sinner vs Alcaraz final became the most-watched tennis match in Italian TV history with over 7 million viewers.

Taken together, these numbers reflect how vital this edition was not only for the players, but also for tennis as a sport. Overall, attending the Nitto ATP Finals offered a unique insight into one of tennis’s most prestigious events, highlighting why Turin remains an ideal host for the season finale.

By Alberto Di Lodovico