Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s rivalry heats up at Nitto ATP Finals; Alexander Zverev scores hat trick | ATP Tour

Scouting report

Alcaraz and Sinner rivalry heats up at Nitto ATP Finals; Zverev scores hat trick

An executive summary of what every fan should know about the upcoming tournament

November 8, 2025

After a dramatic season, the 2025 ATP Tour comes to a close this week at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, where the top eight players in the world will battle it out for glory at the Inalpi Arena on Sunday.

Carlos Alcaraz is grabbing the headlines after a remarkable year, but he faces a stiff challenge from defending champion Jannik Sinner, who is in red-hot form. Two-time former champion Alexander Zverev is eyeing another shot at the prestigious trophy, with Felix Auger-Aliassim returning for the first time since 2022.

Ben Shelton and Lorenzo Musetti make their Nitto ATP Finals debuts, while last year’s finalists Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur return to Inalpi Arena. ATPTour.com looks at the main storylines in Turin.

1) Defending champion Sinner goes home: After winning his first Nitto ATP Finals crown last year, Sinner returned to his home country eager to defend his trophy. The 24-year-old Italian comes into Turin with a 26-match indoor match winning streak, including back-to-back titles in Vienna and Paris – his past two starts.

Watch highlights from Sinner’s 2024 Championship victory in Turin:

2) Alcaraz’s goal is a first championship: Alcaraz won a tour-leading eight trophies in 2025, a season he described as his “best” to date, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. Now, the 22-year-old Spaniard is looking to add another milestone to his resume: his first Nitto ATP Finals crown. Alcaraz arrived in Turin seeking redemption after a surprise first-round loss to Cameron Nouri in Paris.

3) The year-end battle reaches its climax: The battle for the year-end number one spot in the ATP, awarded by PIF Honors, between Alcaraz and Sinner will be decided in Turin. Sinner trails Alcaraz by 1,050 points at the PIF ATP Live Event in Turin and must defend his title to have any chance of finishing the year in first place for the second consecutive year.

Sinner’s fate will depend on how dominant he is, while Alcaraz can still seal the year-end top spot with a strong performance – especially if the Italian loses along the way. Read the full breakdown here.

4) Shelton and Musetti debut: After an outstanding season, Shelton earned his Nitto ATP Finals debut by winning the biggest title of his career at the ATP Masters 1000 in Toronto. Together with Fritz, he marks the first time since 2006 that multiple American men appear in the season finale.

Musetti is the second player in the field to make his debut. He is the only player to reach at least the semifinals in all three clay-court ATP Masters 1000 events and the French Open this season, as evidenced by his first quarterfinal appearance at the U.S. Open.

Shelton joins Sinner, Zverev and Auger-Aliassime in the Bjorn Borg division. Zverev leads Shelton 4-0 in the Lexus ATP Head2Head Series, three of which will be played this year, including the Munich final.

5) Zverev’s eye hat trick: A mainstay in the event, Zverev is making his eighth appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals after lifting the trophy in 2018 and 2021. The German reached his third Grand Slam final at the Australian Open and won the ATP 500 title in Munich. He is now targeting a third title at the year-end championships to cap off another rock-solid season.

Who made you laugh like this! ! ! #NittoATP Finals pic.twitter.com/aiN2CtffXL

— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 8, 2025

6) Fritz, De Minaur, Musetti in the Alcaraz group: After beating Alcaraz in the Laver Cup two months ago, Fritz is eager to beat the Spaniard again indoors in Turin. They were all competing in the Jimmy Connors Group, which included De Minaur and Musetti. De Minaur makes his second consecutive appearance in Turin.

7) Stacked doubles courts: Top seeds Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool dominated the doubles field. They will face stiff competition from Marcel Granollers/Horacio Zeballos in Peter Fleming’s group, defending champions Kevin Kravitz/Tim Puiz and Simone Borelli/Andrea Vavassori.

Meanwhile, Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten can still surpass Cash/Glaspoor in the race for the year-end ATP doubles No. 1 title awarded by PIF. They lead the John McEnroe group, which also includes Marcelo Arevalo/Matt Pavic, Joe Salisbury/Neal Skupsky and Christian Harrison/Evan King.