This year's ATP Finals could have a different feel to it compared to previous editions as the world's best male players aim to achieve qualification for the season-ending showpiece in Turin.
Clinching year-end number one honours for the first time in his career, Alexander Zverev confirmed his place for the ATP Finals alongside seven-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Jannik Sinner is another who has qualified, but the Italian will not be participating in the event in his home country after confirming his campaign had come to a premature end due to a persistent knee issue.
Another player that has all but qualified for the ATP Finals is Ben Shelton, with the American surpassing 4,000 points in both the ATP rankings and the Race to Turin leaderboard. He missed out on securing his place at the Shanghai Masters following a third round defeat to Arthur Gea.
While three spots have been confirmed, the remaining five are still up for grabs and it's hotly contested.
Following the conclusion of the Shanghai Masters, two ATP 500 tournaments in Basel and Vienna precede the final Masters 1000 event on the calendar, the Paris Masters, which provides players with ample opportunity to accrue enough ranking points to secure their spot in Turin.
The current top eight in the Race to Turin rankings features Flavio Cobolli, Frances Tiafoe and Arthur Fils, who are all chasing their debut at the ATP Finals.
Occupying eighth spot is Daniil Medvedev, who's enjoyed a resurgence in the last few months following a difficult period in his career, and the Russian would normally be the last entry on the list - unless there's a Grand Slam champion from this year ranked outside the top eight.
However, with Sinner's absence already confirmed, whoever finishes ninth in the Race to Turin rankings will secure an ATP Finals berth, and seven players are separated by little over 400 points.
The final position currently belongs to Alex de Minaur, who retired in the final of the China Open against Novak Djokovic. Victory in Beijing saw him scale the Race to Turin leaderboard, only for his chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals to be hampered by a first-round defeat against Hubert Hurkacz in Shanghai.
De Minaur has reached the last eight in Shanghai which boosts his chances of reaching the Turin showpiece, while Rafael Jodar and Tommy Paul have also progressed to the quarter-finals of the Masters 1000 event and are still in the frame to qualify for the ATP Finals.
Taylor Fritz, Jakub Mensik and Felix Auger-Aliassime all require strong runs in their upcoming tournaments if they're to have any chance of breaching the top nine in the Race to Turin rankings.
If the season was to end today, this is how the ATP Finals would shape up, with those below the dotted line missing the cut:
Current projected ATP Finals entry list
- Alexander Zverev
- Carlos Alcaraz
- Ben Shelton
- Flavio Cobolli
- Frances Tiafoe
- Arthur Fils
- Daniil Medvedev
- Alex de Minaur
----------------------------------------------------------------- - Novak Djokovic
- Rafael Jodar
- Taylor Fritz
- Jakub Mensik
- Tommy Paul
- Felix Auger-Aliassime
*As of 14/10/2026
