Tennis News • Everything You Need To Know About The 2020 Nitto ATP Finals • 10sBalls

By Ricky Dimon

It has been a most unusual tennis season for obvious reasons, but it will come to a normal end (well, sort of normal). The Nitto ATP Finals will wrap up the 2020 campaign starting this weekend.

When, where, and with fans?

The 2020 Nitto ATP Finals will take place from Sunday, Nov. 15 through Sunday, Nov. 22. This marks the 50th anniversary of the year-end championship, which is being held at the O2 Arena in London for a 12th consecutive occasion. The O2 is a multi-sport hall located in the Millennium Dome complex.

Fans will not be in attendance. Back in August, the ATP announced that the Nitto ATP Finals–like many other tournaments this year–would take place behind closed doors. The ATP specified that this decision was taken in accordance with the directives of the British government.

Who is in the singles field?

Novak Djokovic (Australian Open champion), Rafael Nadal (French Open champion), and Dominic Thiem (U.S. Open champion) are the top three seeds. Defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas also qualified with ease, as did Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev. The last two spots went to Andrey Rublev–who has been on fire this fall–and Diego Schwartzman. Roger Federer would have qualified thanks to the haul of 2019 points that he was able to keep, but he is out due to a knee injury.

Who is in the doubles field?

The first four doubles teams to qualify were Rajeev Ram and Salisbury, Mate Pavic and Bruno Soares, Kevin Krawietz and Andres Mies, and Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos. They were eventually joined by Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic, John Peers and Michael Venus, and Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo.

The last spot will go either to the Jurgen Melzer and Edouard Roger-Vasselin or Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski depending on the results from this week’s 250-point event in Sofia.

What is the allotment of rankings points and prize money?

Ranking points are the same for singles and doubles. A victory in a group stage is worth 200 points. A semifinal win earns 400 points. The title adds 500 points.

Winning a group singles match earns $215,000, winning a semi-final earns $657,000, and winning the final earns $1.354 million. If the champion goes through the entire competition undefeated, he pockets $2.87 million. Additionally, just participating in the tournament is worth $215,000. Alternates who are present in London in case anyone who pulls out during the event collect a minimum of $116,000.

What are the names of the round-robin groups?

In singles, Group A is called “Tokyo 1970,” in reference to the first edition of the year-end championship that took place in the Japanese capital. Group B is named “London 2020” to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the event and its final stop in Great Britain. In doubles, the ATP has decided to pay tribute to the Bryan brothers–the legendary duo that just announced retirement this summer. Group A is called “Bob Bryan” in honor the four-time winner of the event (2003, 2004, 2009, and 2014). Group B is christened “Mike Bryan” for the five-time champion (four times with his brother and once with Jack Sock in 2018).

The draw ceremony for the groups is not until Thursday, but the match schedule is as follows:

Sunday to Thursday
Singles: 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Doubles: noon and 6:00 p.m.

Friday
Singles: 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Doubles: 5:45 p.m. and 7:45 p.m.

Saturday (semi-finals)
Singles: 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Doubles: noon and 6:00 p.m.

Sunday (finals)
Doubles: 3:30 p.m.
Singles: 6:00 p.m.

Will the year-end championship take place in London in 2021?

No. In London since 2009, the Nitto ATP Finals will move to Turin, Italy in 2021 and stay there until at least 2025. Nitto will remain the title sponsor.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.