The ATP Tour season opens its year-end championship on Sunday at the Inalpi Arena in Turin, Italy, featuring a singles draw with four tournament debutants, one returning former champion, and three players returning from the previous edition, according to Clarín.
Alexander Zverev enters the 56th edition of the tournament as the world number one and top seed.
The 29-year-old German captured Roland Garros and the US Open during a season marked by injuries to top rivals, Clarín reported. Zverev has won the year-end title twice previously, claiming his first crown in 2018 in London at age 21 and his second in 2021 by defeating Novak Djokovic in the semifinals and Daniil Medvedev in the final.
Carlos Alcaraz arrives as the second seed in the Ivan Lendl group, behind the absent Sinner, who ended his season after winning Wimbledon due to a right knee injury.
Alcaraz missed five months of competition between April and September due to a right wrist injury before capturing titles in Tokyo, Vienna, and the Paris Masters 1000. He told ATP Tour reporters on Friday, November 13, 2026, that his post-injury resurgence caught him by surprise.
“No fue fácil, no fue sencillo”
Alcaraz added that winning three titles after a long layoff on a surface where he historically struggled felt unexpected.
“Pues es un poco chocante, no me lo esperaba”
Alcaraz told ATP Tour.
Singles Competition Uses Round-Robin Format with Two Groups
The singles competition runs from Sunday, November 15, through the final on Sunday, November 22, 2026, according to ESPN Argentina. Matches use the traditional round-robin format, with the top two players from each of the two groups advancing to the semifinals on Saturday, November 21, as reported by ESPN Argentina.
The John McEnroe group places top seed Alexander Zverev alongside American Ben Shelton, Frenchman Arthur Fils, and Spanish newcomer Rafael Jódar. In the Ivan Lendl group, Carlos Alcaraz matches up with American Frances Tiafoe, Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, and Italian Flavio Cobolli, according to Clarín and ESPN Argentina.
Opening day play on Sunday, November 15, schedules Zverev against Jódar starting at 10 a.m. local Argentina time, followed by Shelton against Fils at 4:30 p.m., as detailed by ESPN Argentina. On Monday, November 16, Alcaraz faces Tiafoe at 10 a.m. local time, with Medvedev meeting Cobolli at 4:30 p.m., per ESPN Argentina.
Singles Champion Can Earn a Record 5,17 Million Dollars
The tournament offers a total prize fund of 15.75 million dollars, equivalent to approximately 14.28 million euros, according to a distribution schedule published by tournament organizers and reported by infobae. An undefeated singles champion can earn a record payout of 5,17 million dollars, or roughly 4.69 million euros, alongside a maximum of 1,500 ranking points, infobae noted.
Singles players receive 338,000 dollars for participating in the group stage, with each round-robin match victory adding 405,000 dollars, according to infobae. Semifinal wins carry a reward of 1.206 million dollars, while the singles title match winner earns 2.412 million dollars, infobae reported. Doubles pairs compete for separate purses, where an undefeated run yields 959,300 dollars, according to the same distribution figures.
Djokovic Misses Tournament as Medvedev Returns to Competition
Novak Djokovic misses the tournament for the third year following a second-round exit at the Paris Masters. Clarín said that this is the first time since 2006 that Djokovic failed to qualify on merit after playing a full season schedule, excluding his prolonged injury absence in the second half of 2017.
Medvedev returns to the field after a one-year absence, seeking his second tournament title following his 2020 victory in London, according to Clarín. Meanwhile, American participants Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe attempt to end a 20-year streak of European singles champions at the event, which last saw a non-European winner when Argentina’s David Nalbandian defeated Roger Federer in Shanghai in 2005, Clarín reported.
In the doubles draw, Argentine Horacio Zeballos and Spain’s Marcel Granollers compete as the third-seeded pair in the Mark Woodforde group, facing teams led by Christian Harrison, Neal Skupski, Simone Bolelli, Andrea Vavassori, Kevin Krawietz, and Tim Puetz, according to Clarín.
Group stage matches continue through Friday, November 20, 2026, at the Inalpi Arena.
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