ATP Finals adjust schedule to avoid World Cup clash

The closing session of the ATP Finals has been altered to ensure that fans need not choose between the singles final and the opening of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. 

The singles was set to culminate in the championship match at 5pm CET on 20th November. However, the opening World Cup match between Qatar and Ecuador was then moved to that same time. The ATP have since reworked the final session to avoid a clash.

“ATP and FIT (Italian Tennis Federation) have announced a change to the match start times for the final session of the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals,” a statement on the Nitto ATP Finals website begins. “The revised match schedule will see play on Sunday 20th November begin with the doubles final at 4pm CET, followed by the singles final not before 7pm CET (previously scheduled at 5pm CET).

“The change has been made to avoid a direct clash between the singles final and the opening game of the FIFA World Cup, which was recently rescheduled to 5pm CET on the same day. The revised schedule will maximise the global reach of the final match of the ATP Tour season for fans tuning in worldwide. All scheduling for the prior days of the tournament remains unaffected.”

Five spots for the ATP Finals have already been filled. Carlos Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud and Novak Djokovic are all set to compete in Turin. That leaves three positions yet to be filled unless any of those players opt out of the event.

2020 champion Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Felix Auger-Aliassime occupy the final three spots at time of publication.

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