The eight qualifiers for the ATP Finals have already been defined. Although there is still one week of competition left on the calendar, the participants of the Masters Tournament were confirmed after the withdrawal of Novak Djokovic, who cited physical problems for not traveling to Turin.
“I was excited to go, but due to a persistent injury I will not be playing next week,” said the seven-time champion on his social networks. “I apologize to those who were waiting to see me and I wish all the competitors a great tournament.”
So far, five players have already qualified for this year’s ATP Finals: Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Taylor Fritz. This week, four more players were vying to join the party in Turin.
Of those four players, Djokovic was the only one who would not compete. Thus, Casper Ruud, Alex de Minaur and Andrey Rublev were mathematically confirmed as the last classified, regardless of their results in the Metz and Belgrade tournaments.
With this table already defined, a historic fact is established: for the first time since 2001, none of the members of the “Big Three” that marked an era in tennis will be present in the Masters Tournament.
Roger Federer debuted at the ATP Finals in 2002 and competed in 17 editions. Rafael Nadal made his first appearance in 2006 and participated in 11 editions. Novak Djokovic debuted in 2007, also with 17 appearances, and was also defending the title on this occasion.
Djokovic is the only one of the “Big Three” who is still active. Roger Federer retired a couple of seasons ago, and Rafael Nadal will say goodbye to tennis in two weeks, playing for Spain in the Davis Cup finals.
It remains to be seen if Djokovic will be able to participate in Malaga representing Serbia, or if his injury will prevent him from playing. It will be interesting to follow his recovery closely and see how this situation develops.
