Justin Engel got a good draw at the Next Gen Finals in Jeddah.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edited: December 14, 2025, 9:00 p.m
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Justin Engel can have legitimate hopes of reaching the semi-finals at his Next Gen Finals premiere. The draw made on Sunday in Jeddah meant well for the German, who only slipped into the field of the U-20 tournament after the Czech Jakub Mensik was withdrawn.
In the red group, Engel will face the Belgian Alexander Blockx (2), the Croatian Dino Prizmic (3) and the American Nishesh Basavareddy (6). The 187th in the world rankings, who was ranked 396th at the end of 2024, is tackling the tournament as number eight. Engel will play his first match on Wednesday against Blockx.
Tien only top 100 player in Jeddah
Engel is the first German player ever to compete in the Next Gen Finals, which were launched in 2017. At the same time, the 18-year-old is the youngest of the eight participants this year. The Franconian, who wants to become number one in the world in the future, earned his starting place in Saudi Arabia, among other things, through his surprising quarter-final entry at the BOSS OPEN in Stuttgart.
In Jeddah, Engel avoided an early duel with Learner Tien, who, as number 28 in the world and the only top 100 player, starts the Next Gen Finals as the top favorite. The American will face the two Spaniards Martin Landaluce (4) and Rafael Jodar (7) as well as the Norwegian Nicolai Budkov Kjaer (5) in the blue group.
The draw at a glance
Wednesday’s schedule at a glance
