ATP Finals 2024: Meet the eight contenders and their path to qualification

Novak Djokovic rules himself out of the ATP Finals 2024.

Novak Djokovic has ended his season early after deciding to skip the ATP Finals 2024 in Turin. The Serb cited injury as the reason for not being able to play despite being in a position to qualify. Djokovic, currently the World No. 5, was sixth in the Live Race to Turin when he made the announcement.

Djokovic had clarified earlier in the year following Serbia’s Davis Cup tie in September that making the ATP Finals was not his goal, and his main priorities lie with playing for Serbia and the Grand Slams. After the news of the Serbian’s withdrawal came through, the 2024 season will mark the first time in 23 years without one of the big three – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Djokovic gracing the event.

Djokovic, who bagged the elusive gold medal at the Paris Olympics, is without a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2017, was spotted on the beaches of Maldives after skipping last week’s Paris Masters.

The recent development has solidified the eight-man field from the event, and the list unveiled by the ATP and the seven-time ATP Finals titlist not on it. Andrey Rublev, ranked ninth in the Race to Turin, has made the list after the Djokovic decision to withdraw. This season will mark the beginning of a new era at the season ending championships.

Also Read: Alex de Minaur becomes first Australian in two decades to qualify for ATP Finals

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner leads the qualifier list that includes Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud, Alex de Minaur and Andrey Rublev.

Here are the elite eight and their path to the 2024 ATP Finals:

Jannik Sinner

Jannik Sinner has been the front-runner in the ATP Live Race to Turin since winning the Australian Open in January. Sinner won his tour-leading seventh ATP-level title at the Shanghai Masters to underline his dominance of the 2024 season.

Despite not playing at the Paris Masters, the Italian has a 3,015-point lead over second-placed Alexander Zverev. By accumulating 10,330 points, Sinner has ensured he will become the ATP year-end No. 1 for the first time.

After missing out on the Paris Olympics and the Rome Masters, Sinner bookended his Grand Slam season with a trophy at the US Open. The Italian beat Taylor Fritz in the title round to become the first man in 47 years to claim his first two Grand Slam titles in the same season.

The milestone moment in 2024 came in June during the Roland Garros fortnight when he became the first Italian No.1 in ATP rankings history.

Alexander Zverev

Alexander Zverev will be making his seventh appearance and is a two-time ATP Finals champion. Having won the title in 2018 and 2021, a positive result in 2024 will make the 27-year-old German just the eighth player in tournament history to claim at least three titles.

On bagging the Paris Masters trophy, Zverev is on 66 match wins and one ahead of Jannik Sinner, who is on 65. In doing so, he has bettered his previous best of sixty wins in a season.

The resilient Zverev recovered from an ankle injury that derailed his 2022 campaign by winning two titles and qualifying for the ATP Finals in 2023. The German enjoyed a successful clay court swing in 2024, reaching the Roland Finals in addition to winning the Rome and Paris ATP 1000 titles. Zverev also returned to a career-high ranking as World No. 2.

Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz has lifted four trophies this season and has split the four majors with Jannik Sinner. The highlight of the season for Alcaraz has been winning the Channel Slam (French Open and Wimbledon). The Spaniard has defended his Wimbledon and Indian Wells victories from 2023, besides adding the trophies from Roland Garros and the China Open to his collection.

By returning victorious from SW19 and Paris, the 21-year-old has maintained his perfect 4-0 record in major finals. Alcaraz shrugged off a bee invasion and Medvedev in Indian Wells and dominated Djokovic for a second time at Wimbledon in as many years to win two of his biggest titles in 2024. Alcaraz then took on Zverev in Paris for his first Roland Garros title and defeated Sinner in Beijing for a third straight win over the Italian.

Daniil Medvedev

Daniil Medvedev, one of the qualifiers for the 2024 edition of the ATP Finals, won the event in 2020. Medvedev, who is still without a title in the 2024 season, will be looking to remedy the situation in Turin. In a season where he made the finals at the Australian Open and in Indian Wells, Medvedev earned himself a qualifying for the ATP Finals for the sixth consecutive year.

Medvedev has advanced to the quarter-final stage in nine of the 16 events played in 2024. The Russian has semi-final appearances in Dubai, Miami, Wimbledon and Beijing. The World No. 4 sealed his Turin appearance when he made the quarter-finals at Shanghai.

Taylor Fritz

Taylor Fritz has established himself as a player to reckon with on the ATP Tour. Fritz also added two titles and cemented his place as the top-ranked American when he reached the finals of the 2024 US Open. He also re-entered the ATP top 10 since making the exit in February earlier this year.

Fritz qualified fifth on the list in the Race to Turin a day after turning 27. It is the second time in three years that Fritz will be making the journey to Turin to compete at the ATP Finals. The American’s semi-final appearance in Shanghai was instrumental in joining the elite eight headed to Italy.

Casper Ruud

Casper Ruud is a former finalist at the ATP Finals. The Norwegian was the finalist in 2022 and will return to the venue for the third time. Ruud also made the semi-finals in 2021, on his debut in Turin.

Ruud was quick off the blocks in 2024 with a 39-10 record in the first half of the season. The World No. 7 can count on the Barcelona Open trophy, along with a championship-match appearance in Monte-Carlo and a semi-final run at Roland Garros, among his achievements this season.

Winning the ATP-500 event in Barcelona this season is the biggest title of his career yet. He also lifted the Geneva Open trophy for a third time in his career this season. 

Alex de Minaur

Alex de Minaur slid up and down the ladder before finally clinching his qualifying spot for the 2024 ATP Finals. The Aussie’s never-die spirit made sure he was always in contention for the prestigious year-ending event.

Currently at No. 8 in the ATP rankings, the plucky Australian reached a career-high of No. 6 shortly after winning the Libema Open in the Netherlands. Lifting the trophy at ‘s-Hertogenbosch gave Alex de Minaur the second title of the season after mounting a successful defence at Acapulco in March.

The Australian has been a part of the top 30 in the ATP rankings since 2019 and finished the 2023 season as World No. 12. He made his top ten debut in January this year and will be playing at the ATP Finals for the first time. En route to the top ten, he took out Fritz, Djokovic and Zverev at the 2023 United Cup, becoming the first Aussie top-ten player since Lleyton Hewitt in 2006.

Andrey Rublev

Andrey Rublev has been consistently qualifying for the ATP finals, making an appearance each year since his 2020 debut. Rublev has sealed a spot in Turin for the fifth time despite not winning a title between his victory at the Hong Kong Open and the Madrid Masters.

Rublev is in the midst of another barren phase since the win in Madrid, with the sole bright spot since then making the title round at the Canada Masters. On the way to victory in Madrid, Rublev came from a set down to beat Alcaraz. Once he was back on hard courts in August, Rublev defeated World No. 1 Jannik Sinner en route to the Montreal final.

After qualifying, thanks to a fortunate turn of events, the 27-year-old will focus on bettering his semi-final run in the 2022 edition.

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