ATP Finals race: Sinner out, Cobolli leads chase as five Turin places stay open
With Jannik Sinner out for the season, five Turin spots remain. Cobolli, Medvedev, Tiafoe, Fils and Jodar hold them, with de Minaur and Djokovic closing in.
Five places at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin are still up for grabs as the men's season enters its final weeks. Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton have qualified, while Jannik Sinner will miss the event after ending his season with a knee problem.
The finals are held at Inalpi Arena in Turin from 15 to 22 November. The remaining spots will be decided by the ATP Race to Turin, with several players separated by only a few hundred points.
Who is in and who is out
Sinner announced in early October that he would play no more tournaments in 2026 because of knee inflammation. His absence opened an extra place in the eight-man field. Zverev, Alcaraz and Shelton had already secured their spots.
The standings on 18 October
According to a standings report published on 18 October, the five players currently inside the cut are:
- Flavio Cobolli, 3,540 points
- Daniil Medvedev, 3,420
- Frances Tiafoe, 3,380
- Arthur Fils, 3,325
- Rafael Jodar, 3,159
Jodar holds the last qualifying place. Behind him, Alex de Minaur has 2,880 points, 279 short of Jodar. Novak Djokovic has 2,840, which is 319 short. Tommy Paul, Taylor Fritz, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Jakub Mensik are also within reach.
This week and the weeks ahead
The ATP 250 event in Brussels runs from 19 to 25 October, with Fils headlining the field. Medvedev is scheduled in Almaty and Cobolli in Lyon. These events carry up to 250 points each for the champion.
The bigger prizes follow. The ATP 500 events in Vienna and Basel each give 500 points to the champion. Vienna is listed for 26 October to 1 November. Djokovic has accepted a wild card into Basel. The Paris Masters 1000, worth 1,000 points to the winner, begins on 2 November.
A costly choice for de Minaur
De Minaur had been due to play the Six Kings Slam exhibition in Riyadh this week. The organisers have since moved it to 27 to 30 December. He had picked that event over the 250 tournaments in Brussels, Almaty and Lyon. Unless he receives a wild card, he has no tour event this week, though he has entered Vienna and Paris.
What the numbers mean
Because the gap between fifth and tenth place is under 700 points, a title at a 500-point event in Vienna or Basel could change the picture quickly. A Paris Masters title is worth 1,000 points, so the final big tournament before Turin can still reshape the line-up. Players who reach late rounds in the 250 events this week can also gain valuable points, as can alternates close behind.
Cobolli, Medvedev, Tiafoe and Fils hold a small cushion over Jodar. The Italian leads the group with 3,540 points. Jodar's 3,159 puts him just under 400 behind Cobolli, which shows how tightly packed the race is.
Time zone note for Malaysian fans
Turin is seven hours behind Malaysia in November, so evening sessions in Italy will end well after midnight in Kuala Lumpur. The ATP Finals will be played indoors on hard court.
Key takeaways
- Zverev, Alcaraz and Shelton have qualified for Turin; Sinner is out for the season.
- As of 18 October, Cobolli leads the chase, with Jodar holding the final place.
- De Minaur and Djokovic are both within 320 points of the cut.
- Vienna, Basel and the Paris Masters are the key events left.
FAQ
Q: Is Jannik Sinner playing the ATP Finals? No. Sinner ended his 2026 season because of a knee injury and will not play in Turin.
Q: Who has qualified for the 2026 ATP Finals? Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton have qualified. Five singles places remain.
Q: When are the ATP Finals? They run from 15 to 22 November at Inalpi Arena in Turin, Italy.
Sources: Last Word On Sports, ATP Tour, Tennishead, Tennis Majors, Free Malaysia Today