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“Thank you”, Toni Nadal wrote on Instagram when his nephew Rafael Nadal announced his retirement from professional tennis on 10 October. One week later, the Spanish coach provided a more in-depth reaction with a three-page post full of emotional messages for the 22-time Grand Slam champion.

“There are athletes who, thanks to their huge ability, have managed to become greats in their discipline. Some of them have managed to grow or even transcend their sport, and just a few, because of their attitude and the way they operate, have transcended sport itself and become role models for society,” said Toni in the post.

“I think, without fear of speaking out of turn, and openly accepting any criticism that may come my way after saying this as his uncle, that my nephew, just like his biggest rival for many years, Roger Federer, forms part of the latter category.”

Toni, who coached Rafa from childhood and on the ATP Tour until 2017, is in no doubt about his reasons for his statement. The main one is that his 38-year-old nephew, apart from so much sporting success, has inspired millions of people to never give up, no matter the obstacles in the way.

“Today I can emphatically state that Rafael has fulfilled his promise to me a few years ago in a conversation we had at a club,” said Toni. “I told him that a well-known ex-player had admitted to me how unsatisfied he was with his tennis career. What he sincerely regretted, rather than not winning more titles, was his lack of perseverance.

Roberto Bautista Agut returned to the winners' circle on the ATP Tour for the first time since 2022 with a ruthless showing in Sunday’s championship match at the European Open in Antwerp.

The 36-year-old defeated Jiri Lehecka 7-5, 6-1 to become the second-oldest tour-level champion this year (Djokovic, 37, Paris Olympics). Bautista Agut produced an imperious display of serving in the first set and showed his trademark grit to outlast the Czech in many of the longer exchanges in the second, sealing victory in one hour, 15 minutes.

“This one is very special,” said Bautista Agut, who improved to 12-11 in tour-level finals. “I broke my foot last year and I had to fight so hard this year. I went back to 120 in the world, but I was still going to practice with a smile on my face, trying to be a better player, to fight until the end of my career. I think I deserved a week like this.”

The moment @BautistaAgut captured the title ?✨@EuroTennisOpen | #EuropeanOpen pic.twitter.com/P1gjzFik8R

Having been forced to go through qualifying at nine tournaments this year, Bautista Agut struggled to make many inroads in tournaments. However, this week in Antwerp, the Spaniard ignited some of his most steely tennis to claim a first indoor title since 2016.

Tommy Paul won his first ATP Tour title in Stockholm in 2021 and on Sunday the American became a champion at the ATP 250 event again.

Fourth seed Paul defeated third seed Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-3 in the BNP Paribas Nordic Open final to claim his third ATP Tour title of the season. The American did not lose a set all week and lifted the trophy after one hour and 25 minutes.

“I feel like every match I played a little bit better and better,” Paul said. “Today I came out playing amazing, so I was definitely happy with the performance.”

2X CHAMPION IN STOCKHOLM ??@TommyPaul | @sthlm_open | #bnpparibasnordicopen pic.twitter.com/RKH0KYIbDt

It was a critical win for the 27-year-old’s Nitto ATP Finals dreams. The American is trying to qualify for the season finale for the first time and by claiming the crown in Stockholm ascended to 10th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, passing Dimitrov by beating the Bulgarian in the championship match.

Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten took a strong step towards securing their qualification for the Nitto ATP Finals after capturing their fourth tour-level title of the season at the BNP Paribas Nordic Open.

The top seeds exuded confidence throughout the week in Stockholm, underpinned by a commanding 7-5, 6-3 triumph against Czechs Patrik Rikl and Petr Nouza in Sunday’s championship match.

“For me, it’s pretty much a home tournament, it’s the closest one we can come to,” said Heliovaara, who is from Finland. “It also felt special because I got to share it with my three-year-old daughter, who has been here all week.”

“It’s probably my second favourite place to play in,” added Patten. “I came to Stockholm for the first time last year and I was desperate to come back, it’s such a pleasure to play here.”

With titles in Marrakech, Lyon, Wimbledon, and Stockholm, Patten/Heliovaara currently occupy eighth in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings, 592 points ahead of ninth-placed Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow. After joining forces in April, the British-Finnish duo is aiming to make its debut appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.

The season is coming to a thrilling climax, with the best players in the world trying to earn their place at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. The chase continues this week at ATP 500 events in Basel and Vienna, where plenty of points are up for grabs.

Andrey Rublev is the top seed at the Swiss Indoors Basel and Alexander Zverev is the top seed at the Erste Bank Open. It will be an emotional week in Vienna, where home hero Dominic Thiem will retire after a standout career in which he reached No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings and won the 2020 US Open.

ATPTour.com looks at five things to watch at each tournament. 

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN BASEL
1) Rublev Leads The Way: The top seed in Basel is Andrey Rublev, who is competing in the tournament for the first time. Every match, beginning with his opener against Portuguese Nuno Borges, is key for the 26-year-old. Rublev is eighth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin and attempting to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the fifth consecutive season.

Karen Khachanov was forced to take the scenic route on Sunday, but did so in dramatic fashion to clinch his seventh ATP Tour title at the Almaty Open.

In a pendulum-swinging contest, the third seed resisted a late fightback to defeat Gabriel Diallo 6-2, 5-7, 6-3. Khachanov appeared to have one hand on the trophy when he led by a set and a break, but Diallo mustered some gutsy tennis to level the contest from the brink of defeat and ignite hopes of a comeback.

“A lot of emotions, now I’m relieved and super happy,” said Khachanov, who improved to 7-2 in tour-level finals. “You can’t expect a final to be easy, without tension, but it was until 6-2, 4-2. Then he started to relax, go for his shots a little bit more, and he suddenly turned the match around.”

Almighty in Almaty ?@ktf_kz | #AlmatyOpen | @karenkhachanov pic.twitter.com/yvrsyK2XUx

Diallo, who was bidding to win his maiden ATP Tour title, is up to a career-high of No. 87 in the Live PIF ATP Rankings after a career-best week in Almaty. The 23-year-old showed grit to go toe-to-toe with the World No. 26, but ultimately faltered in a one-sided decider.

Nick Kyrgios is gearing up to make a comeback on home soil.

Speaking on a panel at SXSW (South By Southwest) in Sydney on Thursday, the Aussie confirmed his participation at the 2025 Australian Open.

“I will be playing the Australian Open this summer,” he said. “I just miss being out there playing in front of a home crowd. We’ve got such a crowd of guys at the moment like Alex de Minaur playing amazing tennis.”

Struggling with knee and wrist injuries for the past 16 months, Kyrgios has been out of action for almost two seasons. Last year, he played a single tour-level match at the BOSS OPEN in Stuttgart and lost to Wu Yibing.

“The injury I had was brutal … The surgeon said I probably wouldn’t be able to play again,” Kyrgios shared. “But I said whatever, just try and get me another two to three years of my career … It’s been a brutal last couple of years, but just being out there to play in front of a home crowd … I just want to be out there, lighting up the crowd and playing in front of my own country.

Faced with a dialled-in opponent and with a final spot on the line, Jiri Lehecka opted for all-out attack on Saturday night at the European Open.

The fifth-seeded Czech was rewarded for his courage with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 semi-final triumph against Marcos Giron at the indoor hard-court ATP 250. Lehecka responded emphatically to a mid-match surge from Giron by breaking the American’s serve twice in the deciding set en route to a one-hour, 57-minute victory.

“All the best to Marcos, he played incredible tennis, especially in the second set,” said Lehecka in his on-court interview. “A few times I was speechless with what he was able to produce, so I’m very happy with the win, so happy to be through and today it was a hard-fought battle.

“After the second set, when I thought I wasn’t playing bad but he was just playing incredible from the back of the baseline, I knew I had to use every chance I had to push forward and to be aggressive. His second serve was the only chance I had to do it, so I tried to use that and it worked well.”

Lehecka converted three of six break points he earned against Giron, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to book his spot in his third tour-level championship match. The Adelaide champion is the first Czech to reach an indoor ATP Tour final since his former coach Tomas Berdych won the Stockholm title in 2015.

As a coach, Vilim Visak is prepared to do whatever it takes — on or off the court — to ensure his charge is ready to compete.

The Croatian, who has worked with his countryman and former No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings Marin Cilic since 2020, considers a positive atmosphere away from the practice court equally as important as the hard work done on it. This desire to help his player feel comfortable can sometimes lead to the development of peculiar routines, as it did during Cilic’s run to the semi-finals at Roland Garros in 2022.

“The night before the first match, [the team] went to have a vegan burger, which is something unusual for us, and then Marin won his first match,” Visak recalled to ATPTour.com. “So except for Marin, we all had to go and eat the same thing again, day by day. After seven days, the waiters did not even ask us what we will have to eat, but routines must be followed. No other choice.

“For that tournament we dreamed of having anything except the vegan burger, but we try to do everything we can to keep the atmosphere positive for the rest. That was funny for us, but it was to make Marin also feel good.”

Marin Cilic and Vilim Visak have known each other since they were junior players in Croatia. Photo courtesy of Vilim Visak

Can a repeat title run in Stockholm turbocharge Tommy Paul’s bid to reach the Nitto ATP Finals?

The American on Saturday booked his spot in the BNP Paribas Nordic Open championship match with a 6-3, 6-2 triumph against Stan Wawrinka. Bidding to return to the final at an event where he lifted the trophy in 2021, Paul converted three of seven break points he earned en route to an 81-minute semi-final victory at the indoor hard-court ATP 250.

“Stan is an amazing player. He’s had an amazing week. It’s been really fun watching him and it was really fun playing against him today,” said Paul, who now leads Wawrinka 2-1 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series. “It took a serious level from me to get past him, so I’m really happy with the battle we had today.”

Final bound ?@TommyPaul knocks out Wawrinka 6-3 6-2

@sthlm_open | #bnpparibasnordicopen pic.twitter.com/59rFb2OFFQ

After reaching his fourth tour-level championship match of 2024, Paul jumped above Grigor Dimitrov into 10th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, but Dimitrov moved back ahead of the American after edging Tallon Griekspoor in the second Stockholm semi-final later on Saturday.

Gabriel Diallo racked up a double milestone on Saturday at the Almaty Open.

The Canadian sunk Francisco Cerundolo 6-4, 6-2 at the indoor hard-court ATP 250 to reach his maiden ATP Tour championship match. With his comprehensive 68-minute triumph against the fourth-seeded Cerundolo, Diallo also guaranteed he will on Monday break into the Top 100 of the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time.

“A lot of joy, a lot of excitement. A lot of relief as well,” said Diallo, when asked about his emotions after his semi-final win. “I’ve been playing some good tennis and I’m very happy to see that the results are going my way. It means the world to me, especially here. I’ve got family members here that I’ve never met before, so obviously it’s pretty cool that they came and I’m having a great week here. I’m extremely happy.”

An unforgettable moment ✨

Gabriel Diallo reaches his first Tour level final after dismissing Cerundolo 6-4 6-2.@ktf_kz | #AlmatyOpen pic.twitter.com/I5rvuCt72P

Diallo converted all three break points he earned against Cerundolo, according to Infosys ATP Stats. The big-serving 23-year-old, who had not reached an ATP Tour quarter-final prior to this week, has risen 31 spots No. 87 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings as a result of his Almaty run so far.

The Erste Bank Open draw has thrown up a host of intriguing storylines as a host of top names arrive in Vienna for the indoor hard-court ATP 500.

Alexander Zverev, the 2021 champion and this year’s top seed, will be unlikely to count on the support of local fans for his first-round clash at the Wiener Stadthalle, where he will take on #NextGenATP home favourite Joel Schwaerzler. It will be a maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash between World No. 2 Zverev and the 18-year-old Schwaerzler, whose only previous tour-level match came in Kitzbuehel earlier this year.

Alongside Schwaerzler, there is another Austrian in the top half of the Vienna draw. Former World No. 3 and 17-time tour-level champion Dominic Thiem is competing as a wild card in the final event of his pro career. The 31-year-old will take on Luciano Darderi in the first round, with the winner set to meet seventh seed Jack Draper or wild card Kei Nishikori.

Third seed Grigor Dimitrov, who will contest his semi-final against Tallon Griekspoor in Stockholm on Saturday evening, begins his Vienna campaign against Zhang Zhizhen. The Bulgarian will know that a deep run in the Austrian capital could be key if he wants to make a late surge towards Nitto ATP Finals qualification.

Dimitrov is currently 10th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, one spot behind the second seed in Vienna, Alex de Minaur. After reaching the Antwerp quarter-finals this week, De Minaur will aim to make a fast start in his opening match against Jan-Lennard Struff in Vienna. His fellow Australian Alexei Popyrin, the eighth seed, is a potential quarter-final opponent for De Minaur.

Gabriel Diallo won’t soon forget this week’s Almaty Open and it’s not only because of what the Canadian has done on court.

Yes, Diallo reached a maiden ATP Tour quarter-final and now semi-final to move closer to the sought after Top 100 in the PIF ATP Rankings benchmark. But the newly turned 23-year-old also got to meet an older family member on his mom’s side for the first time.

“Here I met my cousin that I never met in my life before,” he said. “My cousin lives here in Almaty and has been coming to my matches, so it’s pretty special. And I think it’s something that helped me throughout the week.”

Diallo even intends to do some sightseeing with his cousin after his last match.

That could still be a couple of days away, since the 6-foot-8 big server beat Alejandro Tabilo 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 amid Almaty’s high altitude on Friday to land in the last four.

Hugo Gaston produced more than just a box of tricks on Friday at the European Open in Antwerp.

The Frenchman dug deep to overcome one of the ATP Tour’s most renowned battlers, Alex de Minaur, and reach the semi-finals at the ATP 250. Gaston did not earn a break point between the fourth game of the opening set and the final game of the match, but he found a late charge on return to seal a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 victory.

First Top 10 win! ?

Gaston fights past de Minaur 6-3 3-3 7-5 to reach the SF in Antwerp!@EuroTennisOpen | #EuropeanOpen pic.twitter.com/aOYdwgyUxO

“It was really close. Alex is such a great player, playing unbelievable tennis this year and in the past few years,” said Gaston after notching his first win in five attempts against an opponent from the Top 10 of the PIF ATP Rankings. “When you play against Alex, you have to be ready to play a lot of rallies. I have a little bit of pain in my body, but I tried to stay focused on the game and on my shots, and it was a good one today.”

Although his ability to go toe-to-toe with De Minaur in extended rallies was the key to his quarter-final win, Gaston nonetheless found time to sprinkle some of his trademark creative magic on Friday’s encounter. The best example of that came in the sixth game of the match, when he produced an outrageous no-look overhead from behind the baseline.

Stan Wawrinka is surging in Stockholm.

The Swiss star on Friday delivered a classy display to defeat top seed Andrey Rublev 7-6(5), 7-6(5) and reach the semi-finals at the BNP Paribas Nordic Open in the Swedish capital. Wawrinka held firm in a pair of tie-breaks to seal a one-hour, 52-minute triumph and defeat an opponent from the Top 10 of the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time since August 2023.

“The key was to stay focused and positive with myself,” said Wawrinka, who let slip a 2-0 lead in the second set before completing his win. “Andrey is such an amazing player, but I was feeling good on the court, I was moving well. I could start to dictate a little bit, and with so much support from the crowd, it is easier to fight on the court.”

????-???????? ?@stanwawrinka stuns Rublev 7-6(5) 7-6(5) to reach the last 4 in Stockholm!@sthlm_open | #bnpparibasnordicopen pic.twitter.com/ruoDOBKHnj

The former World No. 3 Wawrinka sent 14 aces past Rublev, according to Infosys ATP Stats, en route to opening a 3-2 lead in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series. Awaiting the three-time major champion in Saturday’s semi-finals will be fourth seed and 2021 Stockholm champion Tommy Paul, who earlier battled past Miomir Kecmanovic 7-6(9), 6-2.

Francisco Cerundolo served up some swift revenge on Friday at the Almaty Open.

The fourth-seeded Argentine downed home favourite Alexander Shevchenko 6-2, 6-3 to reach the semi-finals at the Kazakhstani ATP 250. Cerundolo, who fell to an opening-round defeat to Shevchenko in Shanghai just 13 days ago, converted three of six break points he earned to set a last-four meeting with Gabriel Diallo.

“I’m super happy. I knew it was going to be a really tough match,” said Cerundolo in his on-court interview. “We played last week in Shanghai and he beat me in a really close match. I knew he was playing super good, I told him that at the net. I knew what I had to do and I think I did it really well. I served well, and I’m really happy to get to another semi-final, and my first on hard courts this year.”

Cerundolo won 92 per cent (24/26) of points behind his first serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats, en route to his 65-minute triumph against Shevchenko. The 26-year-old, who won his third ATP Tour title in Umag in July, will now prepare for just his second tour-level semi-final on hard courts following his breakout run at the 2022 Miami Open presented by Itau.

His next test in Kazakhstan is a maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Diallo, who earlier upset second seed Alejandro Tabilo 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. The 23-year-old Canadian Diallo, who has risen 19 spots to No. 99 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings as a result of his run in Almaty so far, will be competing in his first ATP Tour quarter-final.

Almaty’s staging of a first ATP tournament has proven to be a historic occasion for one of its residents, too.

Beibit Zhukayev contests his maiden ATP Tour quarter-final on Friday at the Almaty Open, with his parents expected to be in attendance again. 

“I’m really happy that I got through to my first ATP quarter-final, especially playing at home,” said the 24-year-old wild card, who advanced to the last eight when the surging Tomas Machac retired due to illness after four games Thursday. “It’s an incredible feeling. I’m very proud of myself.”

Zhukayev resides close to the mountains, about a 20-to-25-minute drive from the tournament venue without traffic, the No. 213 player in the PIF ATP Rankings said.

When traffic strikes Kazakhstan’s most populous city, the commute stretches to an hour.

Stan Wawrinka produced a vintage performance Thursday at the BNP Paribas Nordic Open to become the oldest quarter-finalist in Stockholm tournament history.

The 39-year-old dug deep to prevail 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and record back-to-back tour-level wins for the first time since reaching the third round of the 2023 US Open. Wawrinka twice trailed by a break in the deciding set, but found some gutsy tennis to advance in two hours, 12 minutes.

“I’m super happy to get through this match, it was a tough opponent today, but the level was good and it was great to win two matches here,” said Wawrinka. “It’s an amazing atmosphere, a full house. Thank you everybody for making so much noise.”

STAN THE MAN ?

A great week continues for @stanwawrinka as he rallies past Davidovich Fokina 6-4 3-6 7-5 to reach his 112th tour-level quarter-final!@EuroTennisOpen | #EuropeanOpen pic.twitter.com/qy9mFjAXt0

Wawrinka, the former No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings, capitalised on a lacklustre seventh game from the Spaniard before closing out the first set with ease. Davidovich Fokina then raised his level in a near-flawless second set, during which he won 89 per cent (16/18) of points behind his first serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Stefanos Tsitsipas was forced to resort to defence mode Thursday in order to secure a thrilling opening-round win at the European Open.

The second seed was on the brink of defeat, but showcased his resilience to defeat Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-5. Tsitsipas fended off three break points in the 11th game of the decider before finding a crucial break of his own to seal victory in two hours, 26 minutes.

“It was exhausting out here having to stay in the match,” said Tsitsipas, who improved to 40-19 on the season. “The comeback was crazy. When he was up in the score, I managed to stay in the points and defend well.

“It was all psychological at the end, I managed my nerves pretty well. I don’t usually like to build my game around defensive shots, but I had to fight, I had to do anything within my artillery to make it work.” 

Tsitsipas set up a quarter-final clash with fifth seed Jiri Lehecka, who earlier eased past Daniel Altmaier 6-4, 6-3 in one hour, 13 minutes. The Czech was imperious on serve throughout the contest, during which he won 91 per cent (30/33) of points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Roger Federer and Carlos Alcaraz never competed against one another on the ATP Tour, but now fans can see the next best thing. Last week at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, Federer joined the Spaniard for a special practice session that bridged the gap between two generations of greatness.

"What am I doing here?" Federer joked to the cameras as he made his grand entrance.

From the privacy of the practice courts, the 43-year-old showed he's still got game as he confidently traded baseline strokes with his 21-year-old sparring partner. The ATP Masters 1000 tournament's cameras documented the star-studded session, capturing footage as the players ripped forehands and backhands in a light workout.

While a Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting between the pair remains a pipe dream, they did joke about playing a practice set while they wrapped up. Federer and Alcaraz also sat next to one another in the stands to watch the Shanghai singles final, with Jannik Sinner — who last week clinched ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours — beating Novak Djokovic 7-6(4), 6-3.