Nineteen players vie for six final spots, but WTA outshines ATP this year? ATP chooses a champion from among the underdogs.

Both being year-end finals, has the ATP been overshadowed by the WTA this year? When someone voiced this sentiment, the topic rapidly gained attention.

In past years, the end or near end of the Chinese season was regarded as the peak time for fierce rivalry over year-end final spots in both ATP and WTA.

With Sabalenka, Swiatek, Gauff, Anisimova, Pegula, Keys, and Barty already qualified early, the battle between Rybakina and Andreescu for the last spot has truly reached a boiling point. Which player will claim this final place has become a major highlight of this week's tour. Some even say the Tokyo 500 event has been ignited ahead of schedule.

The intense battles on the women's side have met external expectations, but how about the men's side? Some netizens have bluntly described it as a year of "cooling off."

Among the current ATP year-end final qualifiers, only Alcaraz, Sinner, and Djokovic have secured their spots.

Sinner and Alcaraz have dominated the Grand Slams this year, sharing the titles between them. Apart from Zverev taking the Australian Open runner-up spot, the French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open saw these two fiercely claim both champion and runner-up positions, leading fans and netizens to joke that they left no scraps for others. Their strong performances in other major tournaments also earned them well-deserved early qualifications for the Turin year-end finals.

Although Djokovic played fewer tournaments, his high-quality results, reaching all four Grand Slam finals, solidly secured him as the third early qualifier.

However, after Sinner, Alcaraz, and Djokovic, attentive fans calculated that among the remaining five spots at the Turin finals, as many as nineteen players are competing for these places.

While nineteen players fighting for five spots seems more intense than two women vying for one, some argue that ATP’s year-end finals lack the prestige that the WTA currently holds.

Sabalenka, Swiatek, Gauff, Anisimova, Pegula, Keys, and Barty have all reached Grand Slam finals, with numerous Grand Slam titles or runner-ups between them. Even Rybakina and Andreescu, who have yet to secure their spots, boast strong records; the lowest-ranked among them, "Xiaomi La," may not have Grand Slam finals experience but has won two Masters 1000 titles this season.

In contrast, among the men, only Alcaraz, Sinner, and Djokovic have Grand Slam final experience. Among players ranked 3rd to 9th—Zverev, Shelton, Fritz, De Minaur, Musetti, and Aliassime—only the German and the American have Grand Slam final appearances. The best performer among the rest is Shelton, who just joined the Masters ranks this year.

Additionally, despite many competing for the five ATP year-end final spots, a somewhat embarrassing fact is that apart from Zverev’s championship points exceeding 4000, no other player has surpassed 4000 points in titles.

Looking from 4th-ranked Zverev to 15th-ranked Medvedev, among Fritz, Shelton, De Minaur, Musetti, Aliassime, Ruud, Rune, Rublev, and Bublik, only Shelton and Ruud have won Masters titles this year.

Therefore, when fans and netizens compare this year’s ATP men’s qualification landscape to previous years, they bluntly say, "It looks like choosing a leader from among the short guys. Last year we saw battles between stars; now it has sadly fallen to this awkward state, which is really frustrating."

Some ask if this means ATP’s level is declining. After all, nineteen players competing for five year-end final spots does feel both helpless and somewhat laughable.

In fact, considering Zverev’s current points exceed 4000, although ATP hasn’t officially announced it yet, it’s almost certain he will qualify without issue.

The reason why ATP’s year-end final list is completely overshadowed by WTA this year does not seem to be due to poor performances or lack of effort from others, but rather the overwhelming dominance of Alcaraz and Sinner in major events.

Setting aside the Grand Slams, in 500-level tournaments, whenever either of the two participates, the title almost certainly goes to Alcaraz or Sinner. This year’s Tokyo and China Open 500 events, where these two young stars split paths and both won titles, are the best proof. As for Masters tournaments, whenever both compete, others can only realistically fight for runner-up or semifinal spots; winning the title is extremely difficult. All other Masters champions this year either had no participation from both or only one of them played.

Others can’t accumulate enough points to qualify early for the ATP year-end finals, which explains why so many players are competing for the remaining five spots.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Moon River’s Starry Sky)