Scouting Report
Alcaraz & Sinner bring rivalry to a boil at Nitto ATP Finals; Zverev chases hat-trick
An executive summary of what every fan should know about the coming tournament
November 08, 2025
Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour
Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev are among those in the star-studded field at the Nitto ATP Finals.
By ATP Staff
After a dramatic season, the 2025 ATP Tour reaches its finale this week at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, where the world’s top eight players will battle for glory in a showdown starting Sunday at Inalpi Arena.
Carlos Alcaraz headlines the field following an exceptional year, but he faces stiff challenges from defending champion Jannik Sinner, who arrives in red-hot form. Two-time former winner Alexander Zverev is eyeing another run at the prestigious trophy and Felix Auger-Aliassime returns for the first time since 2022.
Making their Nitto ATP Finals debuts are Ben Shelton and Lorenzo Musetti, while last year’s finalist Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur are back in action at Inalpi Arena. ATPTour.com looks at the key storylines to follow in Turin.
1) Defending Champ Sinner Returns Home: After winning his maiden Nitto ATP Finals crown last year, Sinner returns to home soil eager to defend his trophy. The 24-year-old Italian enters Turin riding a 26-match indoor winning streak, including consecutive titles in Vienna and Paris — his past two appearances.
Watch Highlights of Sinner’s 2024 Title Match Triumph In Turin:
2) Alcaraz Aims For First Title: With a Tour-leading eight trophies in 2025, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, Alcaraz has described this as his ‘best’ season yet. Now, the 22-year-old Spaniard will look to add another milestone to his resume: his first Nitto ATP Finals crown. Alcaraz arrives in Turin seeking redemption after a surprise opening-round defeat to Cameron Norrie in Paris.
3) Year-End No. 1 Battle Reaches Climax: The race for ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours between Alcaraz and Sinner comes down to the wire in Turin. Sinner trails Alcaraz by 1,050 points in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin and must defend his title to have a shot at finishing year-end No. 1 for the second straight year.
Sinner’s fate depends on how dominant his run is, while Alcaraz can still seal the year-end top spot with a solid showing — especially if the Italian drops matches along the way. Read the full breakdown here.
4) Shelton & Musetti Make Debuts: After a standout season — in which he won his biggest career title at the ATP Masters 1000 in Toronto — Shelton has earned his Nitto ATP Finals debut. He joins Fritz to mark the first time that multiple American men have featured at the season finale since 2006.
Musetti is the second player in the field who will be making their debut. He is the only player this season to reach at least the semi-finals in all three clay ATP Masters 1000 events and Roland Garros, and he backed it up with a maiden quarter-final showing at the US Open.
Shelton competes in Bjorn Borg Group alongside Sinner, Zverev and Auger-Aliassime. Zverev leads Shelton 4-0 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, with three of those clashes coming this year, including in the Munich final.
5) Zverev Eyes Hat-trick: A mainstay at the event, Zverev is making his eighth appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals, having lifted the trophy in 2018 and 2021. The German reached his third major final at the Australian Open and won the ATP 500 crown in Munich. He now targets his third title at the year-end championships to cap another rock-solid season.
who got you smiling like that!!! #NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/aiN2CtffXL
— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 8, 2025
6) Fritz, De Minaur, Musetti In Alcaraz’s Group: After defeating Alcaraz at the Laver Cup two months ago, Fritz will be eager to claim another indoor win over the Spaniard in Turin. They both compete in Jimmy Connors Group, which includes De Minaur and Musetti. De Minaur is making his second straight appearance in Turin.
7) Stacked Doubles Field: Top seeds Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool headline the doubles field. They will face fierce competition from Marcel Granollers/Horacio Zeballos, defending champions Kevin Krawietz/Tim Puetz and Simone Bolelli/Andrea Vavassori in Peter Fleming Group.
Meanwhile, Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten can still overtake Cash/Glasspool in the race for Year-End ATP Doubles No. 1 presented by PIF honours. They lead John McEnroe Group, which also features Marcelo Arevalo/Mate Pavic, Joe Salisbury/Neal Skupski and Christian Harrison/Evan King.
