How Novak Djokovic's reluctance to confirm participation & other scenarios have thrown ATP Finals 2025 schedule for a toss

The ATP Finals 2025, which will run from November 9-16, finds itself shrouded in chaos. While the draw for the same has already been revealed, the eight-player field isn't completely set in stone just yet. That has caused the schedule for the first two days to go haywire this time.

Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, and Alex de Minaur are the only players locked in at the moment. Felix Auger-Aliassime currently occupies the eighth slot and is already in Turin. However, he could be cast aside if Lorenzo Musetti manages to win the Hellenic Championship in Athens on Saturday (November 8), where he will face Djokovic in the final.

Players are divided into two even groups at the ATP Finals for the group stage. Under normal circumstances, players from the same group contest their matches on the same day. However, that won't be the case this time due to the uncertainty around the player field.

Alcaraz, de Minaur, Djokovic and Fritz are in one group this year, while Sinner, Zverev, and Shelton are in the other group, and will be joined by either Musetti or Auger-Aliassime. Since Djokovic and Musetti will be in different groups, and contest their final in Athens on Saturday, it would've been unfair to either of them to open their ATP Finals campaign on Sunday.

The organizers have instead opted to have one half of each group compete on Sunday, followed by the remaining matches from both groups on Monday. Djokovic, and Musetti, if he qualifies, or Auger-Aliassime, will thus compete on Monday. There's also a possibility that all of this would've been for nothing if the Serb pulls out.

Djokovic's participation is up in the air as of now. He has stated for quite some time that he will decide on competing at the year-end championships after he's done with his campaign in Athens. One will have a clear picture of the entire situation by Saturday evening. In order to avoid a repeat of this fiasco, the ATP has brought in a new rule starting from the next season.

---

The race for the ATP Finals will conclude after the Paris Masters from 2026

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner at the ATP Finals 2025. (Photo: Getty)

The last-minute dash for an ATP Finals spot this year was intriguing to watch for a while. However, this time the race will go down until a few hours before the start of the tournament. That's not favorable for anyone involved in the whole process, be it the players or the fans.

The ATP has learned its lesson from this year's fiasco. Starting from 2026, the Paris Masters will mark the end of the qualification race for the year-end championships.

Points accrued from any tournaments between the Paris Masters and ATP Finals in the current season will be counted towards the race for the following season's year-end championships. This cut-off won't put any last-minute qualifiers at a disadvantage, and will make the whole process streamlined and smoother for everyone.