ATP Finals race hots up: Who can qualify in Paris and how many points do Holger Rune, Hubert Hurkacz, Taylor Fritz need?
The Nitto ATP Finals are in sight.
The last event of the 2023 tennis season starts on November 12 and the race is hotting up to secure a ticket to Turin.
Five players have already booked their places at the men’s season-ending tournament, but there will be plenty of competition for the final three spots at this week’s Paris Masters.
From who’s qualified to who’s still in contention, we run through everything you need to know about the race to qualify for the ATP Finals.
Who has qualified for the ATP Finals?
The five players to have qualified for the 2023 ATP Finals are:
- Novak Djokovic
- Carlos Alcaraz
- Daniil Medvedev
- Jannik Sinner
- Andrey Rublev
Alcaraz will be making his debut at the ATP Finals, having missed out last year due to injury, while Sinner has qualified for the first time after previously making it in as an alternate.
Rublev has qualified for the fourth consecutive year.
The ATP Finals pits the top eight singles players – and doubles teams – over the calendar year against each other. Qualifying is decided by points gained throughout the season, rather than over the course of the last 52 weeks, which is how the world rankings are determined.
Who can qualify for the ATP Finals?
The Paris Masters is the last big event of the season before the ATP Finals.
There are 1,000 points up for grabs for the winner, 600 for the runner-up, 360 for the semi-finalists and 180 for the quarter-finalists.
World No. 15 Karen Khachanov is the lowest-ranked player who could still qualify for the finals, but he would need to win the tournament to have a chance.
It appears more likely that the battle to qualify will be most hotly-contested between Hubert Hurkacz, Taylor Fritz and Casper Ruud, who occupy the three spots below eighth-placed Holger Rune.
- 1. Novak Djokovic – 8,955 points
- 2. Carlos Alcaraz – 8,455 points
- 3. Daniil Medvedev – 7,200 points
- 4. Jannik Sinner – 5,410 points
- 5. Andrey Rublev – 4,455 points
- 6. Stefanos Tsitsipas – 3,885 points
- 7. Alexander Zverev – 3,505 points
- 8. Holger Rune – 3,290 points
- 9. Hubert Hurkacz – 3,075 points
- 10. Taylor Fritz – 3,065 points
- 11. Casper Ruud – 2,825 points
- 12. Tommy Paul – 2,630 points
- 13. Alex de Minaur – 2,570 points
- 14. Frances Tiafoe – 2,310 points
- 15. Karen Khachanov – 2,305 points
Sixth-placed Stefanos Tsitsipas and seventh-placed Alexander Zverev look likely to be the next to book their tickets to Turin.
However, a potential third-round clash between the pair at the Paris Masters could be a big match for Zverev, who might see his spot come under pressure if he loses.
Fritz also has a chance to impact the race as he could play Rune in the third round.
If Rune loses he would be left with just 90 points to show from the tournament and those behind, including Fritz, would have hope of overtaking him.
The third round might also see Hurkacz and Ruud meet in a match that could end one of their chances of qualifying for Turin.
Rune, Hurkacz and Ruud will have another opportunity to gain some points as they are signed up to play the Moselle Open in the last week of the regular season from November 6-11.
As that is an ATP 250 event there will be a maximum of 250 points available to the winner, with 150 to the runner-up and 90 to the semi-finalists. Fritz is also set to play the Sofia Open after the Paris Masters.
Ruud hopes to emulate Sock with late run
A year ago Ruud capped off a superb season by reaching the final of the ATP Finals, losing to Novak Djokovic.
He is in the mix to qualify again, but three successive last-16 losses have not helped his chances.
He is hoping to make a run in Paris to sneak in, just as Jack Sock did in 2017 when he won the Masters event to qualify for the finals.
‘Isn’t looking great’ – Ruud on ATP Finals hopes
“It has been on the mind the last couple of months,” the two-time French Open runner-up told
“Since the US Open the goal was to try to have a couple of clutch tournaments and do well and make it to that eighth spot, even by Paris. But I haven’t been able to do that which has been a bit disappointing, but you have to give credit to Hubi [Hurkacz], who won in Shanghai.
“It isn’t looking great unless I do really well here in Paris. There’s still a chance and I remember some years ago where Jack Sock won in Paris and made the finals out of no expectations, so I am just going to play this week and just enjoy.”
Ruud plays his opening match on Tuesday, October 31 against Gael Monfils or Francisco Cerundolo.
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