Jeddah Awakens to Next Gen Fireworks

In the heart of Saudi Arabia’s bustling Kingdom Arena, the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF fires up on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, drawing all eight contenders into Day 1’s round-robin cauldron. Learner Tien, last year’s finalist, steps back onto these courts as a Top 30 force after clinching his maiden ATP Tour title in Metz, his left-handed guile now sharpened by a season of relentless climbs. The air hums with anticipation, the indoor hard courts’ crisp bounce promising swift rallies where tactical poise meets raw ambition, and every hold could etch a path to the elite champions’ circle.

Opening rally probes seasonal shifts

Dino Prizmic and Nishesh Basavareddy trade first blows at 2 p.m. on Centre Court, their head-to-head a fresh slate amid contrasting trajectories. The Croatian, riding two ATP Challenger titles and quarterfinal runs in Umag this year and 2023, unleashes heavy topspin forehands to dictate from the baseline, his drop shots slicing through defenses on this medium-paced surface. Basavareddy, back for a second Jeddah stint after welcoming coach Gilles Cervara to his team, counters with crosscourt lasers and bolder net rushes, the tactical tweaks from his new guidance aiming to disrupt Prizmic’s clay-bred rhythm in these faster exchanges.

The matchup pulses with adaptation’s edge—Prizmic’s down-the-line backhands, honed in Adriatic finals, test Basavareddy’s forehand setup, while the American’s improved returns could force the Croat into uncomfortable one–two patterns early. Crowd energy builds as serves crack, the arena’s echoes amplifying each unforced error’s weight in a format where points snowball into group standings. This opener sets the tone, revealing how 2025’s challenger grinds translate to the pressure of emerging as Jeddah’s next breakout.

Youth surges against seeded steel

Not before 3 p.m., Alexander Blockx collides with Justin Engel, Red Group’s top seed facing the field’s youngest at 18 in a duel of promise and pedigree. Blockx, who snagged two Challenger titles this year plus main-draw wins at the ATP Masters 1000 in Cincinnati and in Metz through the Next Gen Accelerator pathway, deploys a steady one–two punch with heavy topspin forehands feeding crosscourt backhands. Engel, echoing a historical spark where Jannik Sinner in 2019, Carlos Alcaraz in 2021, and Joao Fonseca in 2024 lifted trophies as the draw’s baby, brings explosive inside-out forehands and a skidding serve, fresh off his Hamburg Challenger crown as 2025’s youngest winner and a Stuttgart ATP 250 quarterfinal from No. 281.

Tactics tilt on straight-line speed here, Engel’s flat groundstrokes pressuring Blockx’s loops, but the Belgian’s serve-volley hybrids might shorten points against the German’s aggressive returns. The psychological hum intensifies—Engel’s wildcard run screams disruption, yet Blockx’s tour-level air forces him to sustain that fire without fading in rallies. As the session unfolds, this clash probes whether youth’s historical promise ignites an upset or bends to seeded resolve, the court’s true bounce turning every pivot into a momentum swing.

Learner Tien at the Silver Sands Beach ahead of the 2025 Next Gen ATP Finals. Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour

Evening styles ignite Blue Group fire

The night session not before 7 p.m. crowns Learner Tien against Rafael Jodar, Blue Group’s headline as the American’s crafty coverage meets the Spaniard’s baseline initiative. Tien, who arrived last year at No. 122 in the PIF ATP Rankings and now returns at 20 as a Top 30 player after Metz glory, builds on brickwall defense and slice backhands to neutralize attacks, his lefty angles forcing crosscourt errors in prolonged exchanges. Jodar, the 19-year-old debutant who sparred at this event last season, flips to aggressor with three Challenger titles in Hersonissos, Lincoln, and Charlottesville, joining Carlos Alcaraz and Nicolas Almagro as the third Spanish teen to hit that mark while studying as a University of Virginia sophomore.

The stylistic rift sharpens under lights—Jodar’s inside-in forehands and flat drives seek to crack Tien’s wall, but the lefty’s underspin could draw the Spaniard forward into net vulnerabilities. Following them, Martin Landaluce faces Nicolai Budkov Kjaer, the Spaniard’s 3-0 Challenger edge over the Norwegian clashing with Budkov Kjaer’s four-title haul this season. Landaluce, Jodar’s close friend from Madrid’s Club de Tenis Chamartin—the first time two Spaniards grace this eight-year event—leans on serve margins and redirects, his all-court variety testing Budkov Kjaer’s relentless depth on the hard’s quick tempo.

Dino Prizmic in Jeddah. Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour

Blue Group’s Spanish infusion adds relational layers, pushing Tien to elevate amid the round-robin’s math, where Landaluce’s head-to-head sway meets Budkov Kjaer’s volume. Red’s opener, meanwhile, layers Blockx’s poise atop Engel’s precocity, the groups’ dynamics weaving challenger arcs into tour contention. As Jeddah’s humidity clings and stands fill, these openers forge the under-21 narrative, balls zipping in patterns that hint at who bends seasons into championship steel.

ORDER OF PLAY - WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2025 CENTRE COURT start 2:00 pm [3] Dino Prizmic (CRO) vs [6] Nishesh Basavareddy (USA)

Not Before 3:00 pm [2] Alexander Blockx (BEL) vs [8] Justin Engel (GER)

Not Before 7:00 pm [1] Learner Tien (USA) vs [7] Rafael Jodar (ESP) [4] Martin Landaluce (ESP) vs [5] Nicolai Budkov Kjaer (NOR)