Next Gen ATP Finals 2022: Men's draw, schedule, players, prize money breakdown and more
The young talents on the ATP tour are set to compete in the fifth edition of the Next Gen ATP Finals, which will be held from November 8-12, 2022.
Carlos Alcaraz, who won the title last year, won't be returning to defend his crown. The teenager has found immense success this season, winning his maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open and claiming the World No. 1 ranking. Jannik Sinner is another player who qualified but withdrew prior to the tournament.
The in-form Holger Rune leads the eight-player field in this year's edition. The young Dane has been playing some incredible tennis over the last few weeks and reached his maiden Masters 1000 semifinal at the Paris Masters.
The tournament has often proven to be a springboard for future success, so the young guns will be eager to give it their all. On that note, here's all the relevant information about the Next Gen ATP Finals:
What is the Next Gen ATP Finals?
The tournament came into existence in 2017 and has been an annual fixture ever since. It is similar to the ATP Finals, except only the best-performing players of the year under the age of 21 are eligible to participate.
Eight players are divided into two groups, with the top two from each group advancing to the semifinals. However, the organizers have also taken this opportunity to experiment with the existing rules and format of the game. Instead of the traditional first-to-six games in a set, it's first-to-four games in each set, with a tie-break happening at 3-3. Here's a more detailed look at this year's rules.
Hyeon Chung won the inaugural edition, with Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz being the subsequent champions. The tournament didn't take place in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Venue
The tournament will take place at the Allianz Cloud Arena in Milan, Italy.
Players
Holger Rune, Brandon Nakashima, Jiri Lehecka and Franceso Passaro have been drawn together in the Green Group. The Dane will be the favorite to top the group given his current form. Nakashima is also expected to make it out of the group stage, though there's a possibility of Lehecka springing a surprise.
Lorenzo Musetti, Jack Draper, Chun-Hsin Tseng and Dominic Stricker comprise the Red Group. The Italian will be eager to put on a good show in front of his home crowd and has the potential to go all the way this time around. Draper will be the second favorite to make it out of this group.
Schedule
The round-robin matches will be held from November 8-10. Four matches will take place each day, equally divided between the day and evening sessions. The semifinals are scheduled for November 11, starting from 7 pm local time, while the final will happen on November 12 at 9 pm.
The official tournament schedule for the 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals can be accessed here.
Prize Money
The total prize money for this year's edition is $1,400,000, but there are no ranking points up for grabs. Here's a detailed breakdown of the prize money:
Where to watch
Viewers in the US, UK, Australia and Canada can watch the Next Gen ATP Finals live on the following channels and sites:
USA: All matches will be broadcast on Tennis Channel.
UK: Fans in the UK can watch the proceedings live on Amazon Prime Video.
Australia: All matches will be telecast on beIN Sports.
Canada: Viewers in Canada can watch all the matches on TSN.
For more information regarding the broadcast of matches, click here.