Seven men have won the ATP’s season-ending championship at their first attempt: Stan Smith in 1970, Ilie Nastase in 1971, Guillermo Vilas in 1974, John McEnroe in 1978, Alex Corretja in 1998, Grigor Dimitrov in 2017 and Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2019. Nobody has done it since. Four more try in Turin from 15 November, when Flavio Cobolli, Arthur Fils, Frances Tiafoe and Rafael Jodar all make their debuts in an eight-man field.
The event has gone by several names, from the Masters to the Tour Finals to the Nitto ATP Finals, and the list below covers all of them. The format, points and prize money for this year are in the ATP Finals guide, and the all-time title count is in most ATP Finals titles.
Every debut champion
- 1970, Stan Smith (Tokyo). The event was decided by round robin, with no final. Rod Laver finished second.
- 1971, Ilie Nastase (Paris). Again a round robin with no final. Smith finished second.
- 1974, Guillermo Vilas (Melbourne). Beat Nastase 7-6(6), 6-2, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4 in the final.
- 1978, John McEnroe (New York). Beat Arthur Ashe 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-5.
- 1998, Alex Corretja (Hanover). Came back from two sets down to beat Carlos Moya 3-6, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-5.
- 2017, Grigor Dimitrov (London). Won all five of his matches and beat David Goffin 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 at The O2. Goffin was also a debutant, the first time two first-time qualifiers had played for the title.
- 2019, Stefanos Tsitsipas (London). Beat Dominic Thiem 6-7(6), 6-2, 7-6(4). At 21 years and three months he was the youngest champion since Lleyton Hewitt, who was 20 when he won in 2001.
Four of the first nine editions, from 1970 to 1978, went to a debutant. After McEnroe it was 20 years until Corretja, and Dimitrov in 2017 was the first since Corretja.
First-time champion is not the same as debut champion
From 2016 to 2019 the event had four first-time champions in a row, but only two of them, Dimitrov and Tsitsipas, were playing it for the first time. Alexander Zverev, the 2018 champion, had made his debut at The O2 a year earlier. Daniil Medvedev lost all three of his round-robin matches on his debut in 2019. Jannik Sinner first played the event in 2021 as an alternate, a route explained in ATP Finals alternates explained.
A poor debut has not stopped players winning later. Three champions won the title after a debut without a win: Novak Djokovic went 0-3 in 2007, Michael Stich 0-3 in 1991 and Stefan Edberg 0-1 in 1985. How the groups are separated when records are level is in ATP Finals round-robin tiebreakers explained.
In 2025, Lorenzo Musetti and Ben Shelton each had the chance to become the third debut champion this century, after Dimitrov and Tsitsipas. Neither won the title.
The four debutants in Turin
Cobolli, Fils, Tiafoe and Jodar qualified through the Race to Turin, the last two only in the final week, as reported in Jodar and Tiafoe complete the ATP Finals field. Paris was the last event that counted, as ATP Finals qualification cutoff explained sets out.
- Arthur Fils is the first Frenchman in the season finale since Gael Monfils in 2016. “It would be insane to play in Turin. I like to play on the big stage. That is why I play tennis,” Fils said before he qualified.
- Flavio Cobolli plays at home. “It is a dream for me,” he said in October. “I want to feel the emotions inside the court, I want to enter that court and feel what those players felt to play there.”
- Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton are trying to become the first American to win the event since Pete Sampras in 1999.
- Rafael Jodar played the Next Gen ATP Finals a year earlier. With Carlos Alcaraz also in the field, two Spaniards have qualified directly for the first time since Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer in 2015.
The other four are past qualifiers: Zverev, Alcaraz, who arrives from his Paris title, Shelton and Medvedev. The year-end top spot is settled separately, as explained in ATP year-end No. 1 explained.
Season Snapshot — 11 November 2026
The 2026 Nitto ATP Finals run from 15 to 22 November at the Inalpi Arena in Turin, the sixth edition there. The field is Jodar, Zverev, Alcaraz, Shelton, Medvedev, Cobolli, Fils and Tiafoe; Jannik Sinner is out with a season-ending injury, as listed on ATP Finals 2026 withdrawals. The singles groups are named after John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl, and the draw is on Thursday 12 November at 12pm CET (6am ET).
This snapshot is dated and will change. The career record above does not.
