The 2022 edition of the Next Generations ATP Finals is right around the corner. The event, featuring the top 21-and-under players has quickly become one of the most anticipated events of the year and a fan favorite. Let’s get you up to speed regarding everything you need to know about the 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals.
Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals Tournament
The Intesa Sanpaolo Next Generation ATP Finals is an annual indoor hardcourt tournament held in Milan, Italy. The event is part of the ATP Finals category and one of the last events of the season. This year will mark the tournament’s 5th edition. The tournament aims to highlight all the young next-generation talents that embody the future of tennis. The qualifying players are the 7 highest ranked 21 or under players, with the 8th being a wild card entry. The event is also exclusively a singles event. Intesa Sanpaolo, an Italian banking group serves as the title sponsor for the event.
The official tournament website is linked below,
Home | Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals | Tennis
| Location | Milan, Italy |
| Venue | Allianz Cloud Arena |
| Tour category | ATP Finals |
| Prize Money | $1,400,000 |
| Draw | 8 Singles |
Next Gen ATP Finals 2022 champion
In 2022, American star Brandon Nakashima wins Next Gen ATP Finals title. Brandon played final against Czech Republican star Jiri Lehecka and defeated him in straight sets (4-3, 4-3, 4-2). Brandon was undefeated through out the event, he won all his 5 matches with only lost 3 sets in entire tournament.
Next Gen ATP Finals History and Previous Winners
The Next Generation ATP Finals are a recent addition to the tour. The event has always been held in Milan, Italy at the Allianz Cloud Arena since its inception in 2017. No ATP points are rewarded for the event due to its many unorthodox and experimental features like electronic line-calling. Some other tournament-unique features include a headset for the coaches to communicate with their players mid-match and a best-of-5 sets match win criteria. Of the 8 players, the final 8th player and wildcard is selected through a qualifying tournament held before the main event. In 2020, the Next Gen Finals event was canceled due to the Covid 19 pandemic, but it made a return the following year.
The 4 previous champions are as follows:
| Year | Winner |
| 2017 | Chung Hyeon |
| 2018 | Stefanos Tsitsipas |
| 2019 | Jannik Sinner |
| 2021 | Carlos Alcaraz |
The first-ever champion, Chung Hyeon of Korea was quite unexpected. Apart from him, the winners of the event have always gone on to be ranked in the top 10. Though all the winners and runner-ups like Audrey Rublev and Alex de Minaur are accomplished and successful top-ranking players, Carlos Alcaraz is by far the most famous of the bunch. Since his win in 2021, he has won a Grand Slam title and been ranked world No. 1, a rank he still holds today. Similar to Alexander Zverev in 2017, Carlos qualified for both the Next Gen and ATP Tour Finals this year and like Alexander Zverev, he chose to withdraw from the event to play at the Tour Finals.
Next Gen ATP Finals 2022 Prize Money
The Next Gen ATP Finals total prize fund sits at $1,400,000. The distribution is as follows:
| Stage | Prize Money |
| Champion | $153,000 |
| Finalist | $113,000 |
| Per R.R win | $28,000 |
| Participation | $82,250 |
| Alternate | $13,000 |
The values for the prize money listed above are stand-alone and additive. For example, an undefeated champion would receive $432,750 in prize money. This total can be separated into stand-alone values. $432,750 consists of $153,000 for the Final win, $113,000 for the semi-final win, $84,000 for 3 Round Robin wins (28,000×3), and finally, $82,250 for participation.
Though the event is an ATP Final, no ranking points are allotted to the players.
Next Gen ATP Finals Draws
The tournament had 8 singles draws and draws was announced on 8th November. Players were divided in 2 teams equally with 4 players each group. All players played each other and top 2 were qualified for semi final.
Next Gen ATP Finals 2022 Dates
The event lasted 5 days from the 8th to 12th November. The Round Robin stage held on the first 3 days of the event; on the 8th, 9th, and 10th then semifinals and final played on 11th and 12th November respectively.
Next Gen ATP Finals Schedule and Format
| Dates | Singles Matches |
| 8th November | Round Robin (4) |
| 9th November | Round Robin (4) |
| 10th November | Round Robin (4) |
| 11th November | Semi Finals |
| 12th November | Finale |
For first-time viewers the absence of the 1st and 2nd rounds can be rather challenging to understand. As there are only 8 players, conventional tournament progression would result in a rapid event, instead, a Round Robin held 4 matches every day. The Round Robin works off the basis of 2 equal groups, so for the Finals, the 8 players were divided into 2 groups of 4 players each. All parties in a group compete against each other, i.e. player no.1 will go up against players no.2,3, and 4 from Group A. Group B will proceed in the same way and the top players from both groups will advance to the semi-finals.
The semi-finalists are selected based on numerous criteria, but the main factor is the greatest number of wins. Then, in the semi-finals, the first-placed player from one group will compete with the second-placed player from the other group and vice versa. This way, the final can be played by people from the same or different groups. All singles matches will be played to the best-of-five sets and each set is won after 4 games, instead of the usual 6.
Next Gen ATP Finals Players List
As always, the Next Gen Finals players list is filled with young talent. Rather disappointingly however, the 2021 winner and world no. 1- Carlos Alcaraz, will not be attending the event. The 2nd highest-ranked 21-and-under player, Jannik Sinner, the 2019 champion has also withdrawn. In their place, the next highest-ranked 21-and-under players will be attending the event. Home favorite Lorenzo Musetti will be participating as well.
| # | Player | ATP Ranking |
| 1 | Matteo Arnaldi | 18 |
| 2 | Lorenzo Musetti | 23 |
| 3 | Jack Draper | 45 |
| 4 | Brandon Nakashima (Champion) | 50 |
| 5 | Jiri Lehecka (runner-up) | 75 |
| 6 | Chun-Hsin Tseng | 90 |
| 7 | Francesco Passaro | 122 |
| 8 | Dominic Stricker | 116 |
Next Gen ATP Finals Tickets
Individual session tickets and “Season” bookings are available for purchase on the official event website. For purchasing tickets and for other related information like hospitalities, click the link mentioned below.
Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals | Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals