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Sinner qualifies for Nitto ATP Finals semi-finals

Regardless of how Jannik Sinner fares in his Thursday evening clash against Daniil Medvedev, the Italian has officially advanced to the Nitto ATP Finals semi-finals following Taylor Fritz's victory against Alex de Minaur.

Sinner, in pole position in The Ilie Nastase Group with straight-set wins against De Minaur and Fritz, will look to break his 7-7 tie in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Medvedev and maintain his perfect week on home soil. Who will join Sinner in the semi-finals from the Nastase group? Click here to read the scenarios.


[ATP AWARDS]

Last year's finalist is aiming to win the prestigious season finale for the first time. It would mark the 23-year-old's eighth title of the year and 18th overall. The semi-finals in Turin will take place Saturday.

Who has won the most Nitto ATP Finals titles?

Roger FedererPete SamprasNovak Djokovic

True or False: Top seed Jannik Sinner is trying to become the first Italian singles champion in Nitto ATP Finals history.

TrueFalse

The season finale is currently held in Turin. In which city was the event held before moving to Italy?

LondonShanghaiSydney

Which player competing in this edition of the Nitto ATP Finals has won the tournament the most times?

Daniil MedvedevAlexander ZverevJannik Sinner

After which doubles players are the round-robin doubles groups named?

Todd Woodbridge and Mark WoodfordePeter Fleming and John McEnroeBob Bryan and Mike Bryan

One player in Turin this year has competed in six consecutive editions of the Nitto ATP Finals. Who is it?

Alexander ZverevAndrey RublevDaniil Medvedev

Which player is making his Nitto ATP Finals debut?

Casper RuudTaylor FritzAlex de Minaur

ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours have already been clinched. To whom did the award go?

Jannik SinnerCarlos AlcarazAlexander Zverev

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Fritz denies De Minaur final flourish

Taylor Fritz took the long way round but finished strong en route to his second victory at the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals.

The American on Thursday overcame Alex de Minaur 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 in Turin to boost his chances of reaching the semi-finals at the prestigious season finale for the second time. After a strong start from De Minaur, Fritz prevailed after two hours, eight minutes in the first singles match of the week to go to three sets at Inalpi Arena.

Top tier Taylor ?

No. 5 seed @Taylor_Fritz97 comes from a set down to defeat de Minaur and record his second victory in the Ilie Nastase Group!#NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/YOYn1UFK6r

— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 14, 2024

“It’s tough, because even though I won the match, I feel like there wasn’t necessarily any moment when I feel like I had a repeatable way to win from the baseline, to be honest,” said Fritz. “He was all over me. What I did a great job of was towards the end of the second set, I really started to find my serve. I was serving much better and that allowed me to just stay with it and create more pressure on his service games.

“When I wasn’t making the first serves, he was just killing me from the baseline, so it just gave me a little bit of comfort to just stay in the match and not be under so much pressure all the time. I was able to just come up with some good shots at some good times, play off some of his mistakes, but it was still incredibly tough.”

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Medvedev’s backhand brilliance gets the AR Immersive Hot Shot treatment!

A trademark Daniil Medvedev backhand down-the-line winner, but with a difference!

The World No. 4’s classy groundstroke against Alex de Minaur in Turin has been reimagined as Tuesday’s AR Immersive Hot Shot. To help attract a younger audience and bring ATP tennis into people’s lives in a new and innovative way, Nitto ATP Finals Immersive Highlights use cutting edge AR technology, 3D modelling and live data to produce tennis moments like never before.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

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Koolhof honoured following final ATP match at Nitto ATP Finals

Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic were eliminated from Nitto ATP Finals semi-final contention on Thursday when they lost a heartbreaking Match Tie-break to Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten. The defeat had extra meaning for Koolhof, who played his final ATP Tour match.

After the match, Koolhof’s fellow players and members of ATP staff took to the court to honour him for a standout career.

“Obviously mixed emotions. It’s been a pleasure to play on the Tour for the past almost 20 years, so thank you all for taking the time to come out here on centre court and especially Mekta for playing with me in my final year,” Koolhof said. “It’s always been a dream to basically finish my career here in Turin at the Nitto ATP Finals, so very grateful and happy to finish my career here, even if we didn’t make it today.”

[ATP APP]

Koolhof won 21 tour-level titles, including the 2020 Nitto ATP Finals with Mektic and 2023 Wimbledon with Neal Skupski.

Stefanos Tsitsipas was among the players who joined Koolhof on court. The Dutchman's fiancée, Julia Goerges, also was there.

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Resurgent Heliovaara/Patten crush Koolhof/Mektic dream in Turin

Wimbledon champions Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten had little time for sentiment on Thursday at the Nitto ATP Finals.

The seventh seeds produced an inspired comeback over 2020 champions Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic to eliminate them from the season finale. Heliovaara and Patten, who prevailed 4-6, 6-3, 12-10, maintained their perfect 3-0 start to their team debut in Turin and ensured that they finished top of the Mike Bryan Group.

“Pleased is an understatement, three wins in the group stage is exactly what we wanted,” said Heliovaara. “But, of course, you have to play pretty well to achieve that. In the Match Tie-break today, we said to each other ‘This is great tennis, let’s enjoy it’. Even if we lost a point here or there, it was great to be a part of that [battle].”

Mike Bryan Group WINNERS ☝️?

No. 3 seeds Harri Heliovaara & Henry Patten round off group play undefeated!#NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/S11ciYeBuI

— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 14, 2024

Koolhof, determined to stay alive in the final ATP Tour event of his career, rallied with Mektic from 5/8 to level the Match Tie-break and ignite hopes of a revival. Heliovaara and Patten, however, locked back in to seal a one-hour, 31-minute victory and assert their dominance heading into the knockout stages.

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What are the Nitto ATP Finals qualification scenarios?

The Nitto ATP Finals is down to the final round of group-play matches. Who will advance to the semi-finals of the season finale?

The only qualifiers so far are Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz, who have won the Bob Bryan Group.

No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings Jannik Sinner is 2-0 in the Ilie Nastase Group and in good position to earn his place in the knockout rounds for the second consecutive year. The Italian faces Daniil Medvedev on Thursday evening.

See below for the full list of Nitto ATP Finals qualification scenarios.

Qualifications

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How wearables are key part of Medvedev’s quest for improvement

Daniil Medvedev stands 6’6”, but does not move like a player that tall. His court coverage helped him climb to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings in 2022.

A lot more goes into that than hard work. Gilles Cervara and the rest of Medvedev’s team drill down to every available detail using wearables to push the boundaries of how well they can prepare the 28-year-old for action.

“It all started in 2020 when we had the plan to improve Daniil’s preparation. One of our teammates came from other sports, especially rugby and soccer, so he had experience with GPS,” Cervara told ATPTour.com, referring to wearables. “He gave us the idea to use it for practice because at that time, we couldn’t use it in matches to have numbers of our different practices and then to compare with matches.

“For matches we didn’t have numbers from GPS, we couldn’t, but we created our own analysis to have numbers of the different movements. And then from those analyses, we put the GPS on during practices, during sets or matches in practice, to also have numbers to compare.”

The idea was to create what Cervara called a “worst-case scenario”. What would be the toughest situation Medvedev would face on court? In that scenario, how many times would he need to change direction? How many times would he need to sprint? At what speed?

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The tips & tricks Alcaraz has given the Nitto ATP Finals hitting partners

All eyes are on the best players in the world this week at the Nitto ATP Finals. The future is in Turin, too.

An annual tradition at the season finale is that the hitting partners for the players are some of the best rising stars in the sport. The ATP selects one player from the Next Gen Accelerator, one from the College Accelerator within it, and the No. 1-ranked junior player in the world.

This year’s hitting partners are former college standout Andres Martin, 19-year-old Bolivian Juan Carlos Prado Angelo and 18-year-old Norwegian Nicolai Budkov Kjaer, the world’s No. 1 junior.

“It's been a really cool experience. You're surrounded by the top eight guys in the world and even Stefanos [Tsitsipas] and [Grigor] Dimitrov, who are just as good as all these guys, are walking around really casually,” Martin said. “It's really nice, you get a feeling, you see the level. You see what these guys are doing off the court, on the court. It's really cool to watch and maybe try to take a little bit of bits and pieces of guys' games and apply it to yourself.

“It’s really an unbelievable learning process for me. I'm really honoured to be here, and it's really cool to watch everybody and be a part of it.”

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Zverev rebuffs resurgent Ruud in Turin tussle

Alexander Zverev maintained his red-hot late-season form in impressive fashion on Wednesday night at the Nitto ATP Finals.

The German downed Casper Ruud 7-6(3), 6-3 in Turin to notch his second victory of the week at the prestigious season finale in Turin. Although Ruud appeared full of confidence after upsetting Carlos Alcaraz in his opening match, Zverev ground down the Norwegian with a rock-solid 86-minute display at Inalpi Arena.

“A good match. I thought both of us played quite good tennis,” said Zverev, who outhit Ruud by 28 winners to 13. “I’m happy with the win. Maybe it was even better than my first match, even though the first match was quite good as well. I’m looking forward to Carlos now on Friday and hopefully more matches at the weekend.”

With his Tour-leading 68th victory of 2024, Zverev improved to 2-0 in John Newcombe Group. The Rome and Paris champion will take on Alcaraz in his final group match on Friday, when he will bid to secure his semi-final spot. Zverev is chasing his third Nitto ATP Finals title, having previously lifted the trophy in London in 2018 and Turin in 2021.

Zverev and Ruud were closely matched in an intriguing opening set that featured no break points but plenty of high-quality all-court exchanges. It was the second-seeded German who pulled clear when it mattered most, however, as he quickly established an ultimately unassailable 6/1 lead in the tie-break.

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Sinner & Alcaraz nearing Big Four levels of Top 10 dominance

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have quickly established themselves at the top of the sport, and a big reason why is because of their performance against the best players in the world.

Entering the season, only four players since 2000 had earned at least 13 wins against opponents inside the world’s Top 10 in a single season. They are the legendary ‘Big Four’ of Novak Djokovic (10x), Roger Federer (10x), Rafael Nadal (4x) and Andy Murray (3x).

[ATP AWARDS]

Sinner has joined the elite group by earning 14 Top 10 victories entering the final match of round-robin play at the Nitto ATP Finals. Alcaraz is one triumph away from adding his name to the exclusive list with a round-robin clash to go on Friday against Alexander Zverev.

“That's good to know for my confidence to go up a little bit,” said Alcaraz, who cracked a smile when told about his 12-4 record against the Top 10 this season.

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Romanian Gamer wins Nitto ATP Finals eSports title

Victor Ionescu is the Tennis Clash eSports champion! Battling out in front of a lively crowd inside the Inalpi Arena Wednesday night, Ionescu overcame Matteo Dal Forno to win the Tennis Clash eSports crown and €6,000 in prize money.

The ‘Road To Turin’ began earlier this year, with 748,000 participants entering. After competing through three qualifying tournaments and five in-game tournaments, eight players qualified for finals day in Turin.

The round-robin and semi-finals stage of the mobile game occurred at the FITP eSports corner inside the Nitto ATP Finals Fan Village, with Ionescu and Dal Forno advancing to the final.

With the pressure on, Ionescu stepped up to win the title.

“When I saw my name on every screen inside the stadium it was very humbling, it was very crazy,” Ionescu said after his win. “I would never have anticipated this five years ago when I started playing this game. In order to qualify you have to win online and it was very competitive. There were many good players. Now I was here with the best players and it was crazy.”

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Sinner & Medvedev square off in Turin group finale

The 2024 Nitto ATP Finals will produce its first two singles semi-finalists on Thursday, as the action in the Ilie Nastase Group concludes. Home favourite Jannik Sinner will seek to wrap up a perfect round-robin campaign when he takes on Daniil Medvedev, after Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur meet in the day session. All four men still have a path to qualify for the knockout rounds.

The undefeated doubles duo of Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten will face Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic in the Mike Bryan Group, while Aussies Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson meet Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos.

 

Who has won the most Nitto ATP Finals titles?

Roger Federer Pete Sampras Novak Djokovic

True or False: Top seed Jannik Sinner is trying to become the first Italian singles champion in Nitto ATP Finals history.

True False

The season finale is currently held in Turin. In which city was the event held before moving to Italy?

London Shanghai Sydney

Which player competing in this edition of the Nitto ATP Finals has won the tournament the most times?

Daniil Medvedev Alexander Zverev Jannik Sinner

After which doubles players are the round-robin doubles groups named?

Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde Peter Fleming and John McEnroe Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan

One player in Turin this year has competed in six consecutive editions of the Nitto ATP Finals. Who is it?

Alexander Zverev Andrey Rublev Daniil Medvedev

Which player is making his Nitto ATP Finals debut?

Casper Ruud Taylor Fritz Alex de Minaur

ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours have already been clinched. To whom did the award go?

Jannik Sinner Carlos Alcaraz Alexander Zverev

[1] Jannik Sinner (ITA) vs. [4] Daniil Medvedev
Playing on home soil for the first time this season, Sinner is in pole position to top the group after a pair of straight-sets wins against De Minaur and Fritz. But the No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings could face his toughest test so far this week against Medvedev on Day 5.

Thursday's showdown will break a 7-7 tie in the pair's Lexus ATP Head2Head series. Medvedev dominated the early stages of their rivalry, winning their first six matches, but Sinner has won seven of their past eight.

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Krawietz/Puetz spoil Italian party, book SF spot in Turin

Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz are continuing to rise to the occasion in their team debut at the Nitto ATP Finals.

The Germans produced an assertive performance on Wednesday to down Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori 7-5, 6-4 and book their spot in knockout stages at the season finale. Unfazed by the occasion inside the Inalpi Arena, Krawietz and Puetz stood firm to move to 2-0 in the Bob Bryan Group.

[ATP APP]

“We started the tournament off really well two days ago, and we didn’t really take a step back today,” said Puetz. “It was very hard to match that, from two days ago, because the level was just so high from us, higher than we probably expected. [But] today was just amazing.

“The bigger issue at the beginning was the Italians playing really well, I think they maybe deserved the first set more than we did, but that’s doubles. In the end, we got it, stayed tough, got a bit lucky, and here we are.”

SEMI-FINALS BOUND ?️✈️

?? @GoldenSetTim & Kevin Krawietz become the first all-German team to reach the last four in the 55-year tournament history!#NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/iaWQdPiAwC

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Alcaraz: ‘We’re going to go all out’ against Zverev

Carlos Alcaraz wanted to give himself a chance, and it turned out to be worth the effort. Despite having been ill for several days, on Wednesday the Spaniard picked up his first win at this year’s Nitto ATP Finals, beating Andrey Rublev 6-3, 7-6(8). The victory keeps the four-time Grand Slam champion in the battle for the semi-finals, and he now knows exactly what he has to do to get there; on Friday Alcaraz will face Alexander Zverev in what promises to be a memorable scrap.

“I’m honestly very happy with the level I played,” began Alcaraz. “It was a very high level, despite how I’m feeling. I thought that against someone like Rublev, who hits the ball very hard and dominates from the back, that I wouldn’t feel great, but I felt better than expected, coping well with the long rallies and managing to run and play well from the baseline,” the 22-year-old noted happily. “It was a very solid match. I needed it and it gives me a lot of confidence for Friday, which will be tough. My chances of qualifying are still there, so we’re going to go all out.”

On Tuesday, Alcaraz was forced to stop practising after five minutes because of the breathing difficulties he has been dealing with for a few days. Despite having taken antibiotics, the Murcia native saw no significant change and left for his hotel without practising in order to try and recover in time for his match.

[ATP APP]

On Wednesday morning, wearing a pink nose strip to help him breathe better, Alcaraz completed a good warm up in preparation for his clash with Rublev, during which he felt good.

“My stomach has been improving over the last few days, but in terms of the cold, my nose and chest, I can’t see much improvement,” admitted Alcaraz. “As I said, the fact that I tried not to think too much in order to try and play my best tennis in my current condition helped. I’m still hopeful I’ll improve as the days go by. Let’s see if I feel better on Friday,” continued the Spaniard. “And if I don’t feel better, I’ll still try and play at a good level.”

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Back in business! Alcaraz sinks Rublev at Nitto ATP Finals

After a rocky start to his Nitto ATP Finals, Carlos Alcaraz is up and running in Turin.

The Spaniard eased past Andrey Rublev 6-3, 7-6(8) on Wednesday afternoon at Inalpi Arena in an impressive response to his chastening opening defeat to Casper Ruud. Alcaraz, who struggled with a stomach issue against Ruud, was back to his physical, energetic best in his 96-minute win against Rublev.

“I surprised myself,” said Alcaraz, when asked about his performance despite feeling under the weather. “The way that I played today from the baseline, with my serve. I was really calm. I just tried to be focused on my game and what I had to do and forget about that I’m not feeling well and that I’m sick.

“Once you step on the court, you have to forget everything, your struggles outside the court, and you try to put your focus on hitting a good forehand, a good backhand, and making good tactics against the opponent. I thought I did that pretty well, and surprised myself.”

DOMINANT CARLOS ?

No. 3 seed @carlosalcaraz finds the strength within and keep his hopes alive of survival with a vital victory over Rublev! #NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/2PIKTtRnir

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Which Nitto ATP Finals records does Roger Federer own?

Roger Federer is one of the most accomplished players in the history of tennis. It is no surprise the Swiss star made his mark on the Nitto ATP Finals, too.

The 103-time tour-level titlist claimed six of his trophies at the season finale, but that is not a record. Which tournament records does Federer own?

Federer has won more matches than anyone in event history
The six-time champion won more matches than anyone else in the history of the Nitto ATP Finals and it is not close.

Federer earned a 59-17 record in his 17 appearances. Only one other player — record seven-time champion Novak Djokovic — has earned more than 40 victories at the event. The Serbian has earned a 50-18 record.

Federer failed to make the semi-finals at the Nitto ATP Finals just once in 17 appearances (2008). He also made four finals on top of his six championship triumphs.

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Arevalo/Pavic edge Bopanna/Ebden for crucial win in Turin

Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic shook off a sluggish start on Wednesday to secure a vital victory at the Nitto ATP Finals.

The top seeds overcame Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden 7-5, 6-3 to reignite their hopes of progressing to the knockout stage at the season finale. Arevalo and Pavic rode a red-hot mid-match run of form, during which they won 15 consecutive points, to secure a 68-minute win. 

“I think we had to give it our all today, this was the match to [essentially] stay in the tournament,” Arevalo said. “Anything can happen, and we knew that. Today, we put in extra energy. Mate and I decided to go out there and give our best. We were lucky to execute in the important moments and finally we ended up getting the win.”

Business has picked ?

Top seeds @CheloArevaloATP & Mate Pavic open their account in Turin with a 7-5 6-3 victory over Bopanna/Ebden!#NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/EWffXLDltf

— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 13, 2024

Arevalo and Pavic, who are now 1-1 in the Bob Bryan Group, will seek to bolster their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages when they take on home favourites Simone Bolelli/Andrea Vavassori in their final round-robin match. The Salvadoran-Croatian team is bidding to become the first top-seeded duo to win the event since Mike and Bob Bryan did so in 2014.

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Medvedev & 'Golden Monkey' Rublev share secrets and shots they’d never swap!

Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev may be fierce competitors on court, but off-court, they’re best friends with an unbreakable bond. Having known each other since their teenage years, these two are frequently seen sharing laughs and inside jokes on the ATP Tour.

Ahead of the Nitto ATP Finals, Medvedev and Rublev sat down for a playful Q&A, taking turns grilling each other with lighthearted questions. They discussed which shot they’d borrow from the other, and Medvedev revealed Rublev’s locker room nickname.

“I heard an amazing one in China—‘golden monkey.’ I loved it so much that I want everyone to call him that from now on,” Medvedev joked, grinning.

Rublev, who’s the godfather to Medvedev’s 2-year-old daughter Alisa, shared what makes the World No. 4 so tough to beat.

“Your spirit, your fight,” Rublev said to Medvedev. “It doesn’t matter the conditions, your mood, or the level of tournament— ATP 250 or a Grand Slam —you’re always battling.”

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Take our Nitto ATP Finals quiz

The Nitto ATP Finals are underway, with the best players in the world competing for the prestigious season finale trophy.

How well do you know the year-end championships? Test your knowledge of the tournament's champions, locations and more by taking our quiz below.

 

Who has won the most Nitto ATP Finals titles?

Roger Federer Pete Sampras Novak Djokovic

True or False: Top seed Jannik Sinner is trying to become the first Italian singles champion in Nitto ATP Finals history.

True False

The season finale is currently held in Turin. In which city was the event held before moving to Italy?

London Shanghai Sydney

Which player competing in this edition of the Nitto ATP Finals has won the tournament the most times?

Daniil Medvedev Alexander Zverev Jannik Sinner

After which doubles players are the round-robin doubles groups named?

Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde Peter Fleming and John McEnroe Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan

One player in Turin this year has competed in six consecutive editions of the Nitto ATP Finals. Who is it?

Alexander Zverev Andrey Rublev Daniil Medvedev

Which player is making his Nitto ATP Finals debut?

Casper Ruud Taylor Fritz Alex de Minaur

ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours have already been clinched. To whom did the award go?

Jannik Sinner Carlos Alcaraz Alexander Zverev

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Ruud’s stunning lob vs. Alcaraz… As you’ve never seen it before!

Even hardcore fans who have been keeping a keen eye on every point of the Nitto ATP Finals action this week in Turin have never seen tennis like this…

At the 2024 edition of the prestigious season finale, some of the most memorable on-court moments produced by the ATP Tour’s finest stars in Turin will be presented to help attract a younger audience and create new tennis fans. Each day, a Nitto ATP Finals Immersive Highlight will showcase a great point using cutting edge AR technology, 3D modelling and live data, bringing ATP tennis into people’s lives in a new and innovative way.

Check out Ruud’s stunning lob below to experience tennis like never before!

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

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