Joao Fonseca announced his withdrawal from next month’s NextGen ATP Finals earlier this week.
At the end of a long first full season on tour and having already won the tournament last year, Fonseca’s decision is no surprise. The 19-year-old cited an injury, but he likely just wants to rest up before the 2026 campaign begins in Australia. Fonseca will play an exhibition event against Carlos Alcaraz in Miami on December 8.
The NextGen ATP Finals will take place December 17-21 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Similar to the Nitto ATP Finals, it is a prestigious year-end championship for the top eight — in this case only for players who are 20 years old or younger.
Jakub Mensik, who is No. 1 in the race to Jeddah ahead of Fonseca, has confirmed his participation.
“I am super happy and super excited to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals for the second time,” Mensik commented. “The whole year was really good for me, winning my first ATP title with the Masters 1000 in Miami. It was a really great run and makes it even more special finishing the year as a top-20 player. I am really excited to see you guys in December in Jeddah.”
The 19-year-old Czech went winless in group play at last year’s event, although he was in a brutal group with Fonseca, Arthur Fils, and Learner Tien. Mensik lost to both Fonseca and Tien in fifth-set tiebreakers. All five of his sets against Fonseca were decided by ‘breakers.
Other players currently in qualifying position for the 2025 NextGen ATP Finals are Tien, Alexander Blockx, Dino Prizmic, Martin Landaluce, Nikolai Budkov Kjaer, Nishesh Basavareddy, and Rafael Jodar.