ATP Challenger Test: PIF Field Presents Next Generation ATP Finals Road to Jeddah | ATP Tour
Next Generation ATP Finals
Challenger Test: Next Generation ATP Finals Road to Jeddah Presented at PIF Field
Budkov Kjaer is the youngest player to win four Challenger titles in 2025
December 17, 2025
Nicholas Afverty
Nicolai Budkov Kjaer was crowned champion in October at the ATP Challenger 75 event in Mouilleron le Captif, France.
Written by ATP Staff
Fans eager to stay ahead of the curve and identify the next wave of #NextGenATP talent should pay close attention to the results of the ATP Challengers event. The eight players participating in this year’s Next Generation ATP Finals hosted by PIF have all tasted the success of the ATP Challengers before reaching where they are today.
ATPTour.com highlights each Jeddah competitor and the Challenger milestones they have achieved in their young careers.
Nikolai Budkov Kjaer
Of the six players who have shared the four-season leading title, the Norwegian is the youngest to achieve the feat. The 19-year-old won his first Challenger title in Glasgow in February and returned to the winner’s circle with back-to-back wins in Tampere and Astana in July, becoming the youngest Norwegian to win multiple Challenger titles. The 2024 Wimbledon men’s singles champion won the Mouilleron le Captif Challenger in October, his fourth victory of the year.
After winning his first Challenger title in February, Budkov Kjaer said: “In a way, yes. [I am surprised] It’s coming. Because everyone on Challenger is so good. But in a way, no, because I always believed I was a good player. You always want to believe in your ability to beat the top players and I always believed I was a very dangerous opponent. “
Justin Engel
The German became the youngest Challenger champion in 2025 with a memorable win on his home soil. Facing 18-year-old Federico Sina in the final in Hamburg, it was the youngest challenger to win the title since 2003, when Mario Ancic also defeated Rafael Nadal in Hamburg. At 18 years and 25 days, Engel became the fifth youngest German champion in Challenger history and the first player born in 2007 to win the title in this category.
“Every championship is an important championship, especially my first challenger,” Engel said after his win in Hamburg. “This win makes everything better and I’m really happy.”
Raphael Hodar
Nearly a year after winning the U.S. Open junior title, beating Budkov Kjaer 6-6 after leading 10 points in the third set tiebreaker, the teenager captured his first ATP Challenger title in Hersonissos, Greece, in September. Jordahl entered the week ranked 540th in the world in the PIF ATP Rankings and entered the main draw as a substitute, but in his ninth Challenger appearance, he has come a long way. Jordahl didn’t stop there.
In October, Jordahl won the Lincoln Challenge and the Charlottesville Challenge over a three-week span, the latter at the University of Virginia, where the 19-year-old is a sophomore. The Madrid native earned ITA All-American honors in his first season at the University of Virginia and qualified for the ATP Next Generation Accelerator, a program designed to provide top players in the U.S. collegiate system with a direct developmental pathway into select Challenger events.
Dino Przymic
Prizmich is waving the flag proudly as Croatia’s next promising talent. Prizmic began his tennis journey at the Split Tennis Club, which produced Goran Ivanisevic and Mario Ancic, and he aims to follow in their lofty footsteps. In June, the 19-year-old Prizmic won the Bratislava Challenger, becoming the second Croat after Ancic to win three Challenger titles as a teenager.
The #NextGenATP star finished the Challenger season with a 27-9 record, including two championships and three additional finals appearances. “It’s a good feeling, but I think it’s something I have to excel from the beginning to be a good player,” Przymic said in July. “It’s a good start to try to be a top player and try to compete against really good players.”
Martin Landalus
The Spaniard’s impressive late season performance has boosted his chances in Jeddah. Landalus won the Orleans Challenger in September, earning 125 PIF ATP Ranking points, and then reached the semifinals in Olbia, where he won the title last year.
When Landalus won the title in Olbia last season, he became the fifth Spaniard since 2000 to win the Challenge title at 18 or under. Jordahl has since added his name to that list. The top four players are all in the top ten of the PIF ATP Ranking: Carlos Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal, Tommy Robredo and Nicolas Almagro.
The champion and his trophy🏆 #ATPchallenger | @RFETenis pic.twitter.com/D5WSmhZ1sf
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) September 28, 2025
Alexander Brooks
The Belgian ended his ATP Challenger Tour season with the title, winning his first tournament of the year (Oeiras) and winning again in his last Challenger tournament (Bratislava). The same week that Jordahl won in Charlottesville, Blox won the Slovak Open. Now, the 20-year-old will look to build on that victory and end the year by claiming the biggest title of his career in Jeddah as the second seed.
When Blockx won the hard-court Oeiras Challenger, he became the youngest Belgian to win multiple trophies at that level.
Nishesh Basavareddy
Basavareddy returns to Jeddah for the second consecutive year and has only played in seven challenge matches this year, three of which reached the quarter-finals. He has more than paid his dues with the Challengers heading into the 2024 season, during which he has made six finals appearances (winning twice) and compiled a 41-13 record.
The American moved to the ATP Tour and achieved his best result at the ATP 250 event in Auckland, where he reached the semi-finals.
learner field
When Tian played in Jeddah last year, he was ranked 122nd in the PIF ATP rankings, a stark contrast to his world ranking of 28th today. Now, the left-hander is hoping to go one step further than last year’s runner-up Joao Fonseca, who has mainly competed on the ATP Tour this season and has only played one Challenger event.
But Tian’s success on the ATP Challenger Tour provided a springboard for him to compete on the sport’s biggest stage. Tian had a 35-9 record in Challenger competition last season, including three championships.
