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Jannik Sinner’s 2024 season reads like a standout resumé. The 23-year-old has won six tour-level titles, including his first two major trophies at the 2024 Australian Open and, most recently, the US Open. In June, he achieved a career-high ranking of World No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

Although the Italian has achieved remarkable success in 2024, he still believes there is another gear he can tap into. He hopes to continue that process starting this week at the China Open in Beijing.

“I have to improve a couple of things, which already me and my coach in the US Open swing needed to improve,” Sinner said. “We worked on that and also the physical shape. We tried to improve.”

For a period, a persistent hip injury hampered his form. Despite limitations brought on by the injury, Sinner persevered and lifted a tittle at the Cincinnati Open, with wins over Top 10 opponents Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverev.

Sinner was then dominant at the US Open, the season’s final major. The World No. 1 defeated 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals and American No. 1 Taylor Fritz en route to the crown.

The International Tennis Federation has announced the schedule for the 2024 Davis Cup Final 8. The event will take place at the Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena in Malaga from 19-24 November.

The Davis Cup Final 8 will begin with Spain taking on the Netherlands in a quarter-final at 5 p.m. CET on Tuesday 19 November. The match will be followed by Germany facing 2022 champions Canada at 12 p.m. CET on Wednesday 20 November.

In the top half of the draw, on Thursday 21 November, the United States will face Australia during the day session before defending champions Italy plays Argentina in the evening session.

The semi-finals will begin on Friday 22 November and Saturday 23 November. The 2024 Davis Cup final is slated for Sunday 24 November.

Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, and Jannik Sinner are among the players announced to compete by their respective countries.

There are not many greater feelings in the sport than triumphing at an ATP Tour event held on your home turf, and Kei Nishikori can say he has done it twice.

The Japanese star, who rose to a career-high of World No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings, has flirted with the possibility of returning to the winner’s circle in Tokyo but has admitted that nerves may be there as he prepares to compete at the ATP 500 event for the first time since 2018.

“It’s a big goal to win again this week,” Nishikori said ahead of the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships, which gets underway on Wednesday. “I might get tight but I will try to enjoy it.”

Nishikori twice overcame the threat of Canadian Milos Raonic in the final to clinch the 2012 and 2014 titles in Tokyo and, after receiving a wild card this year, the 34-year-old is making his first appearance in the Japanese capital in six years.

“This is something special to win a title [here], this is my home and I have always watched the tournament when I was little,” Nishikori added. “I know that it’s tough this year, not easy to go far, but I will try to go as far as I can.”

#NextGenATP Chinese star Shang Juncheng made history on Tuesday at the Chengdu Open, where he became the first player born in 2005 to win an ATP Tour title.

The 19-year-old’s success on home soil has further cemented his Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF qualification hopes, with the Chinese lefty poised to compete at the 20-and-under event in Jeddah in December.

Shang is up to second in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, 759 points ahead of ninth-placed Vilius Gaubas, who is just outside the qualification spots.

PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah

The World No. 55 Shang impressed on home soil at the ATP 250 event, moving past Kei Nishikori, Roman Safiullin, Alexander Bublik, Yannick Hanfmann and Lorenzo Musetti to become just the second Chinese man to win a tour-level title after Wu Yibing won in Dallas in 2023.

Carlos Alcaraz will hope to back up his Laver Cup heroics this week when he competes at the China Open in Beijing. However, before the serious business commences on court, the No. 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings took time to explore the Chinese capital with WTA star Coco Gauff.

The Spaniard and American were all smiles when they visited the Forbidden City dressed in traditional clothing on Wednesday.

“It was a great experience being there," Alcaraz said in his pre-tournament press-conference. "I couldn't go around much last year. For me, it's great to see the culture here in China, see different things. Being there [in the Forbidden City] was a great experience for me. I'm really happy to be back here again in Beijing.”

? Dynamic Duo alert in Beijing ? @CocoGauff and @carlosalcaraz went out to explore to Forbidden City today ??@ChinaOpen | #ChinaOpen | @WTA pic.twitter.com/kzCvMFFyKs

On court, Alcaraz hopes his performances at the Laver Cup can help him in his quest for further glory during the Asian swing. The 21-year-old, who earned victories against Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz to help guide Team Europe to victory against Team World in Berlin, is the second seed at the ATP 500 event in Beijing.

The day before a 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz won his first major title at the 2022 US Open, there was another Spanish teenager who lifted the Flushing Meadows junior trophy in the shadows of Arthur Ashe Stadium. That was Martin Landaluce.

While Alcaraz would go on to triumph in the biggest tennis-only stadium in the world and assure his climb to World No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Landaluce, then 16, became junior champion on a much smaller Court 11. Back home in Spain, the whole country was following Landaluce’s result and buzzing about the teenager’s potential.

How fast can Landaluce rise? Can he too reach the top of the game as a teen? Is he the next Spanish great?

With all of the the outside noise, Landaluce sought advice from Alcaraz following the US Open.

“I was asking him, ‘How do you manage to be with one million [followers], or all of your country above you, watching you, saying, 'You have to be this, or you have to be this number’.' It’s very difficult,” Landaluce told ATPTour.com.

Daniil Medvedev has touched down in Beijing, yearning to go one better than he did in 2023 and lift the trophy, but has acknowledged the difficulty of the task that lies ahead at the China Open.

After coming unstuck by Jannik Sinner in last year’s final, Medvedev will have his work cut out with the defending champion and World No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings Carlos Alcaraz back to headline the stacked field in the Chinese capital.

“Whatever tournament I play, I want to win,” Medvedev said ahead of the China Open which starts on Thursday. “It's a strong field in Beijing, like last year, so if I want to win the tournament, you need to play your best from the first to the last match. It's not going to be easy, but that's the goal.

“Regarding the draw, when Sinner, Alcaraz play, you know you're not the top two seed, you know it's going to be tough. In the semi-finals you're going to have to play one of them if they get there. [I will] take it step by step, try to improve my level step by step, and hopefully I can show some good tennis.”

One of Medvedev’s potential semi-final opponents is Alcaraz, his Laver Cup teammate who holds a commanding 5-2 lead in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series. The Spaniard was able to shake off his shock US Open second-round exit to Botic van de Zandschulp to play a pivotal role in Team Europe’s thrilling comeback over Team World on Sunday.

Hubert Hurkacz earned an important win in his quest to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals on Wednesday at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships, where he clawed past American Marcos Giron 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-4 to reach the second round in Tokyo.

The Pole arrives at the ATP 500 hard-court event 13th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, needing strong runs during the Asian swing to boost his faint Nitto ATP Finals hopes.

Competing in Asia for the first time since winning his second ATP Masters 1000 title in Shanghai last year, the 27-year-old recovered from squandering a break advantage in the second set against Giron to advance in a tight decider after two hours and eight minutes.

Victory No. 40 of the season ✅@HubertHurkacz kicks off his Tokyo run, fighting past Giron 6-4 6-7(5) 6-4!@japanopentennis | #kinoshitajotennis pic.twitter.com/3SKgAYFIg8

Hurkacz now trails eighth-placed Alex de Minaur by 665 points in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. The Australian, who occupies the final qualification spot, is currently sidelined by injury.

A smile appeared across the face of #NextGenATP Lithuanian Vilius Gaubas in New York, where the 19-year-old recalled the memorable time he has spent with World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz.

The Lithuanian has practised with the Spaniard on various occasions in the past year and after time, mustered up the confidence to ask the four-time major winner for advice.

Speaking to ATPTour.com as part of our Next Gen Influences Series, Gaubas discusses his conversations with the former Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion Alcaraz and opens up on his biggest idols in tennis, including countryman Ricardas Berankis, who reached a career-high No. 50 in 2016.

Which former Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion do you identify with?
I like Carlos Alcaraz. I practised this year with him a few times, and seeing him doing so well and getting a chance to practice with him was cool. He is so humble. So that's the way it will be for me

Did you get to have any conversations with him? Where were you when you practised with him?
We practised in Spain at the start of the season. I think it was January and we had a few practice sessions and it was really high intensity, and was really, really fun.

Can Matteo Berrettini become just the second player in 2024 to win four or more ATP Tour titles this week at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships?

The Italian made a impressive start in Tokyo on Wednesday, when he hustled past Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 6-4 under a closed roof to advance to the second round.

Fresh off a statement upset win over Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open, the Dutchman constituted a tricky path to navigate, but Berrettini was able to nullify any threat. The Italian, who is No. 45 in the PIF ATP Rankings, struck 22 winners according to Infosys ATP Stats on his way to a hard-fought victory.

Berrettini says Arigatō ?@japanopentennis | #kinoshitajotennis pic.twitter.com/c9jf2KElzN

At the ATP 500 event in Tokyo, the 28-year-old was able to display his most ruthless tennis, extending his 2024 record against lower-ranked players to 15-0 as well as his Lexus ATP Head2Head series to 4-0 over van de Zandschulp.

Hubert Hurkacz’s efforts on court will mean more than ever for the rest of the season.

The No. 8 player in the PIF ATP Rankings is giving back to his home country, Poland, which has recently dealt with devastating flooding.

“Starting today and until the end of the season, I will be donating €100 for every ace I hit to support those affected by the devastating floods in Poland,” Hurkacz wrote on social media. “For me, sport is not just a competition, but also a platform to drive impact.”

pic.twitter.com/ZMN13e6nC4

Hurkacz enters the week leading the ATP Tour in aces with 702 in 55 matches according to Infosys ATP Stats. That is nearly 13 aces per match.

Nobody loves their backhand more than Daniil Medvedev.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers groundstroke analysis from the 2024 season identifies Medvedev as the only player in the Top 20 who hits more backhands than forehands. The data set is from ATP matches on Hawk-Eye courts. Medvedev is the king of the “backhand cage” strategy, where he locks opponents into a sharp-angle backhand ad-court exchange, daring them to take on more risk by attempting to escape his clutches down the line.

It’s a damned if you do, and damned if you don’t predicament for Medvedev’s opponents. They have little chance of outlasting him backhand to backhand, while at the same time hitting down the line to escape the backhand lockdown pattern also comes with elevated risk.

The six players in the Top 20 of the PIF ATP Rankings who hit the highest percentage of backhands are:

1) Daniil Medvedev 53.1%
2) Alex de Minaur 49.4%
3) Taylor Fritz 49%
4) Sebastian Korda 48.9%
5) Novak Djokovic 48.9%
6) Frances Tiafoe 48.2%

#NextGenATP star Shang Juncheng made history on Tuesday by becoming the first Chinese player to win an ATP Tour title on home soil at the Chengdu Open.

The 19-year-old also became the first player born in 2005 or later to triumph on the ATP Tour. Entering the week, he had not made a tour-level championship match.

ATPTour.com caught up with Shang to discuss his maiden moment, an important mindset change, his lucky charms and more.

What does it mean to win your first ATP Tour title?
It's been a tough week, tough matches, tough opponents, and I think it's special to overcome that, and I feel very grateful to play in [front of] my my home crowd, and they were amazing this week. All the energies were great. My team, they helped me so much. My family that's supporting me all the way throughout the week. Just super, super happy.

This is a historic moment not only winning your first title, but making more history for Chinese tennis. How much more special does that make this and what should people know about your friendship with the rest of the Chinese stars?
It's always special to play at home, not mentioning to win a title. I've never thought that I would do it this early in my career, but I'm grateful for this one. Just a super special week. I was going match by match, not knowing what will happen in the next one.

Carlos Alcaraz is the third player to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, which will be held at Inalpi Arena in Turin from 10-17 November.

The Spaniard joins Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev in the field, leaving five singles spots remaining at the prestigious season finale. The 21-year-old has earned his place at the event for the third consecutive year. He did not compete in 2022, the year he claimed ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours, due to injury.

Alcaraz doubled his major titles count this season, emerging victorious at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. The Spaniard became just the sixth man in the Open Era to win the Roland Garros-Wimbledon double in the same year, joining Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

Alcaraz also lifted the fifth ATP Masters 1000 trophy of his career at Indian Wells and earned a silver medal in singles at the Paris Olympics. He owns a 43-9 record for the season.

Last year, Alcaraz made his Nitto ATP Finals debut by reaching the semi-finals. He defeated Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev in group play to advance to the last four, where he fell to eventual champion Djokovic.

Gijs Brouwer and Jaume Munar saved match points en route to lifting trophies this past week on the ATP Challenger Tour.

While the 28-year-old Brouwer advanced through qualifying and went all the way to claim his maiden Challenger title, Munar triumphed at that level for a record-extending eighth consecutive season.

The Dutchman Brouwer downed home favourite and former World No. 10 Lucas Pouille 6-4, 7-6(2) in Sunday’s Saint-Tropez Open final. Brouwer saved two match points in the quarter-finals against Benjamin Bonzi, who was the only player all week to take a set off the lefty.

“It feels unbelievable. I was really trying for years to get [a Challenger title] and now I finally have one. I’m super happy,” Brouwer said. “The key this week was the mentality, being good in my head, always staying positive throughout the week. I just kept playing and didn't think too much of the score. Just with a clean head every point and fight for every point.”

Munar, 27, won his 10th Challenger trophy at the Bad Waltersdorf Trophy in Austria. The top seed defeated Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-2, 6-1 in the final, a day after Munar fended off three match points to outlast American Nicolas Moreno De Alboran in the last four.

Marin Cilic is an ATP Tour champion once again. The Croatian overcame Chinese star Zhang Zhizhen 7-6(5), 7-6(5) on Tuesday at the Hangzhou Open to clinch his first tour-level title since 2021.

The 35-year-old wild card was competing in his first tour-level event since Buenos Aires in February and arrived in Chengdu at No. 777 in the PIF ATP Rankings. However, Cilic looked sharp throughout his run at the ATP 250, dropping just two sets to become the lowest-ranked champion in the ATP Tour history (since 1990).

Mar-in the winner's circle ?@marincilic’s comeback is complete with his first title since 2021!@HangzhouOpen | #HangzhouOpen pic.twitter.com/6Sq0UIJ7Qf

In the pair's first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting, there was little to separate Cilic and home favourite Zhang, with both players saving both break points they faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats. The former World No. 3 Cilic played more aggressively in the two tie-breaks and fired 34 winners in the match compared to 26 from Zhang to triumph on the ATP Tour for the first time since he won St. Petersburg in 2021.

Cilic, who missed several months of 2024 due to a knee injury, has now won 21 tour-level crowns and enjoyed title success in 13 different seasons. He is up to No. 212 in the PIF ATP Rankings following his 16th hard-court title.

The Asian swing commenced on the ATP Tour in Chengdu and Hangzhou, where Shang Juncheng and Marin Cilic won ATP 250 events, respectively.

Nitto ATP Finals hopefuls Lorenzo Musetti and Holger Rune were also in action, with the pair experiencing different fortunes in China. ATPTour.com looks at the movers of the week in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin as of Tuesday, 24 September.

Lorenzo Musetti - 15th (2,365 points)
The Italian remains in 15th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin but closed the gap on eighth-placed Alex de Minaur after reaching his second tour-level final of the season at the Chengdu Open. Musetti earned three wins at the ATP 250 event, gaining 165 points.

The 22-year-old is still 940 points behind De Minaur, who currently occupies the final qualification position for the Nitto ATP Finals. Musetti next heads to the ATP 500 in Beijing, where he will need a deep run to boost his faint Turin hopes.

View PIF ATP Live Race To Turin

If Shang Juncheng was feeling the weight of home expectation on Tuesday at the Chengdu Open, the 19-year-old certainly did not show it.

The #NextGenATP star produced a stunning championship-match performance to overwhelm top seed Lorenzo Musetti and lift his maiden ATP Tour title at the hard-court ATP 250. Shang prevailed 7-6(4), 6-1 after 99 minutes to become the first player born in 2005 or later to win an ATP Tour title.

First time feeling at home ???

Shang becomes the first player born in 2005 or later to win an ATP Tour title after taking down Musetti 7-6(4) 6-1!@ChengduOpen | #ChengduOpen pic.twitter.com/9w8t4Alnlp

By lifting the trophy on his event debut in Chengdu, Shang became just the second Chinese man to win an ATP Tour singles title after Wu Yibing triumphed in Dallas in 2023. Zhang Zhizhen could become the third player on that list later on Tuesday if he can defeat Marin Cilic in the final at the Hangzhou Open.

The key to Shang’s victory against Musetti was how quickly he recovered from the disappointment of being broken when serving for the first set at 6-5. He held firm in the subsequent tie-break to move ahead and then unleashed a series of stunning winners across the second set to accelerate to an ultimately commanding victory.

Top seeds Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori will hope to boost their Nitto ATP Finals hopes this week at the China Open, where they will face Chinese wild cards Wang Aoran and Zhou Yi in the first round following Tuesday’s draw.

The Italians, currently fourth in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings, have won two tour-level titles in 2024. They are in the same half of the draw as fourth seeds Neal Skupski and Michael Venus, who are competing for the first time since their quarter-final run at the US Open. The British-New Zealand team start against Italian singles stars Flavio Cobolli and Lorenzo Musetti.

View Beijing Doubles Draw

In the bottom half of the draw, Wimbledon champions Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten face Spaniards Roberto Carballes Baena and Pablo Carreno Busta in their opening match. Ivan Dodig lifted the trophy at the ATP 500 hard-court event last year with Austin Krajicek. This year, the Croatian is teaming with Rohan Bopanna and the second seeds face Francisco Cerundolo and Nicolas Jarry in the first round.

Krajicek joins forces with Rajeev Ram, with the pair facing Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic in a blockbuster first-round clash. Former No. 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings Stan Wawrinka teams with China’s Buyunchaokete. They play Alexander Bublik and Pedro Martinez in the first round.

Competing at the Chengdu Open seems to bring out the best in Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul.

The top seeds on Tuesday clinched their second consecutive title at the Chinese hard-court ATP 250 with a 6-4, 4-6, 10-4 triumph against Yuki Bhambri and Albano Olivetti. Doumbia and Reboul won the first seven points of the Match Tie-break en route to claiming their third tour-level title of the season.

With their 96-minute win, Doumbia and Reboul also avenged their defeat to Bhambri and Olivetti in the teams’ only previous Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting earlier this season in Lyon. The French pair, which this week in Chengdu was competing together for the first time since Wimbledon, is now 31-15 for 2024.

Doumbia and Reboul have boosted their chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time with their title run. The duo has risen one spot to 14th in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings as a result of its triumph in Chengdu.

Nedunchezhiyan/Prashanth Triumph In Hangzhou
At the Hangzhou Open, Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Vijay Sundar Prashanth rallied to their first ATP Tour title as a team with a 4-6, 7-6(5), 10-7 championship-match win against Constantin Frantzen and Hendrik Jebens.