The head of the Italian Tennis Federation has been left red-faced after his assurances that Novak Djokovic will be playing at the ATP Finals was dismissed by the player.
Angelo Binaghi recently told Italian media that the 24-time Grand Slam has already confirmed his intention to play in the year-end showdown, which will get underway on November 9th. The event features the eight highest-ranked players over the past 52 weeks playing in a round-robin format. Split into two groups of four, the top two of each group will progress to the knockout stages. A player could earn up to 1,500 ranking points and $5.071M in prize money if they win the title without losing a match.
“We have confirmation that Djokovic will be in Turin,” Binaghi told Italian radio channel Rai Gr Parlamento on Monday.
However, Djokovic has since dismissed those comments and is yet to decide if he will be at the event. The Serbian is currently playing at the Hellenic Championship in Athens where he won his opening match against Alejandro Tabilo in straight sets on Tuesday. Held on indoor hardcourts at OAKA Basketball Arena, the tournament is overseen by Djokovic’s brother Djordje.
“I don’t know where he (Binaghi) got that information from. Definitely not from me or my team. I will decide at the end of this tournament,” the 38-year-old said of his ATP Finals participation.
Djokovic is the most successful player in ATP Finals history with seven titles to his name and has qualified for the event a record-equalling 18 times. The other player to have qualified 18 times is Roger Federer. Overall, the Serbian has recorded 50 wins against 18 losses at the tournament since his debut in 2007.
Amid the uncertainty over Djokovic’s participation, Lorenzo Musetti must win the title in Athens this week to qualify for the event without relying on what his peer decides to do. Recently, the ATP confirmed that changes will be made to the qualification cut-off from 2026, with the Paris Masters being the last event where players can secure their place. The change was made to give all players more time to prepare for the event.
Jannik Sinner will be the defending champion at the ATP Finals.
