Tennis fans in Saudi Arabia will get an early “sneak peek” at the future stars of the men’s game when the Next Gen ATP Finals event kicks off in Jeddah on Wednesday, says co-tournament director Daniel Vallverdu.
The second staging of the 20-and-under event in Jeddah features the best eight players of that age group on the ATP circuit, headlined by top seed and last year’s runner-up Arthur Fils.
Since its establishment in 2017, the Next Gen ATP Finals has highlighted the very best up-and-coming tennis talent, with the majority of participants using the tournament as a launching pad on their way to the upper echelons of the sport.
Of the current top 20 tennis players in the world rankings, 17 have qualified for previous Next Gen editions and 16 have opted to take part.
“It’s an incredible stat,” Vallverdu told Arab News on the eve of the start of the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals.
“And, obviously, you have previous winners like Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas. So, you have current world No.1s that have competed and won the event as well.
“I think it’s a true testament that the players that are playing here in Jeddah, today and this week — if you look at the trends and what’s happening over the last six, seven years — will be the next few top players in the world.”
Vallverdu, who also serves as a strategic adviser to the Saudi Tennis Federation and is the co-coach of world No.10 Grigor Dimitrov, sees great potential in the Next Gen class of 2024, which includes — alongside Fils — Alex Michelsen, Jakub Mensik, Shang Juncheng, Learner Tien, Luca van Assche, Nishesh Basavareddy and Joao Fonseca.
“Me personally, obviously, being close to the performance side and the player side, my honest, true opinion, is that this field is one of the best the Next Gen has ever had,” Vallverdu added.
“It’s a very special and particular group that’s here in Jeddah. I think they all have a very high potential and a very high ceiling to grow and become the top players in the world.
“I think if you look at that stat that 16 out of the current top 20 were part of this event, I think that’s a true testament to what the fans are able to experience this week. They will get a sneak peek before anyone else, before these young players become the next future stars on tour.”
Fils, who is joined by world No.48 Mensik, Tien and Fonseca in a tough Blue Group in Jeddah this week, fell to Hamad Medjedovic in last year’s final and will be looking to go one better this time around.
He is familiar with Saudi Arabia and has enjoyed the time he has spent in the Kingdom so far.
“I love this country. I’ve been here one month ago with my friends for some holidays. I really love the country,” the Frenchman said on Monday.
“This event is also mandatory, so I’m here because I need to be here, but it’s a practice week as well. We’re in the preseason, so we’re spending a lot of time on court and I’m here to have some matches, have some fun, but also to work a lot during this week and let’s see.”
Chinese world No.50 Shang is making his Next Gen ATP Finals debut and will commence his campaign on Wednesday against French No.6 seed Van Assche.
He is intrigued by the latest developments in sport in Saudi Arabia and says he will have a chat with his compatriot, Zheng Qinwen, who competed in the WTA Finals in Riyadh last month, about her experience in the Kingdom.
“Speaking of tennis, maybe in Saudi Arabia it doesn’t happen too often, but I’m glad having the Next Gen event coming here to visit the country, to see how everyone is, how the culture is as well,” said the 19-year-old.
“Obviously, the WTA Finals is in Riyadh, which was quite fun. Actually, when I meet Qinwen I’m going to ask her about it as well, how the city is over there. Hopefully I’ll get some good results in, but, most importantly, enjoy the week.
“I think there’s always a key moment that one country or one individual has to push a sport forward. And I’m glad Saudi is doing it. Not many tournaments were held here in the past, so I’m glad that this is happening and hopefully in the future there will be more to come.”
Through his work with the STF, Vallverdu has witnessed firsthand the rapid rise of engagement and participation numbers surrounding tennis in Saudi Arabia.
With two sanctioned tour events currently enjoying a multi-year stay in the Kingdom — the WTA Finals from 2024 to 2026 in Riyadh and the Next Gen ATP Finals from 2023 to 2027 in Jeddah — the STF and Ministry of Sport now have a platform around which they have been building several community programs.
“It’s been incredible. There have been some amazing numbers regarding participation and also clubs coming into play, new clubs becoming part of the ecosystem,” said Vallverdu.
“Having 21,000 fans being part of the WTA Finals, engaging with 33,000 students during the event and pre-event. So, numbers are growing, the interest is growing, which is crucial, and it’s one of the main components and it’s why the federation and the ministry are hosting these events.
“29,000 children participating in the Tennis for All program in 2023 and I’m sure we’ll get much bigger numbers for 2024 and that will keep rising.
“The split between boys and girls is a healthy one; it was 52 percent boys, 48 percent girls, which is amazing. The impact the WTA Finals had and will have in the next few years, in terms of female participation, will be exponential.”
He added: “Hosting these events is great, but it goes way beyond the event itself and it goes well beyond for the federation, where you want any program that’s running alongside the event to become its own post the events, maybe going somewhere else.
“So, that’s been a huge focus for the federation over the last 12 months, to make sure whatever was being done pre-Next Gen in 2023 and during Next Gen in 2023, was not only being carried on for the next 12 months, but was even growing at the same time.”
The 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF will take place at the King Abdullah Sports City from Dec. 18–22, with a tournament-record US $2.05 million prize money on offer.
Wednesday, Dec. 18 Order of Play
Afternoon session
Starts at 2:00 p.m. local time
[4] Shang Juncheng (CHN) vs [6] Luca Van Assche (FRA)
Not Before 3:00 p.m.
[2] Alex Michelsen (USA) vs [7] Nishesh Basavareddy (USA)
Evening session
Not Before 7:00 p.m.
[3] Jakub Mensik (CZE) vs [5] Learner Tien (USA)
[1] Arthur Fils (FRA) vs [8] Joao Fonseca (BRA)
