Race to Turin: Jodar makes history in his first year on tour as Fritz falls
Rafael Jodar becomes the first man to reach the Nitto ATP Finals in the year of his tour-level debut, after Carlos Alcaraz beat Taylor Fritz 6-7 (10), 7-5, 6-3 in Paris. Frances Tiafoe also qualified on Friday.
Rafael Jodar, Rolex Paris Masters 2026 | © Chryslène Caillaud / PsNewz
Rafael Jodar didn’t have to play to complete the line-up for the Nitto ATP Finals (Nov. 15-22) on Friday night, when Taylor Fritz lost 6-7 (10), 7-5, 6-3 to Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals of the Rolex Paris Masters. Earlier in the day, Ben Shelton’s 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win over Tommy Paul had sent Frances Tiafoe to Turin.
The 20-year-old, beaten by Casper Ruud in the second round on Tuesday, will make his debut at the season finale. He takes the eighth and last place with 3,234 points, after Fritz, who needed a win to pass him, let two match points slip against Alcaraz.
No player had ever qualified for the season finale after starting the year ranked as low as Jodar, who was No. 168 in January. The previous record belonged to Mariano Puerta of Argentina, No. 133 at the start of 2005, ahead of Arthur Ashe (No. 130 in 1978), Goran Ivanisevic (No. 129 in 2001) and Andre Agassi (No. 110 in 1998). The Spaniard is also the first man to reach the ATP Finals in the same year he made his tour-level debut.
The eight qualifiers are Alexander Zverev, Alcaraz, Shelton, Daniil Medvedev, Flavio Cobolli, Arthur Fils, Tiafoe and Jodar. Jannik Sinner, second in the race, is out for the season.
Race to Turin after Friday in Paris
| # | Player | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alexander Zverev Qualified | 9,350 | |
| 2 | Jannik Sinner Out for the season | 7,950 | |
| 3 | Carlos Alcaraz Qualified · Paris: in the semi-finals | 5,500 | |
| 4 | Ben Shelton Qualified · Paris: in the semi-finals | 4,920 | |
| 5 | Daniil Medvedev Qualified | 3,820 | |
| 6 | Flavio Cobolli Qualified | 3,680 | |
| 7 | Arthur Fils Qualified | 3,625 | |
| 8 | Frances Tiafoe Qualified on Friday | 3,390 | |
| 9 | Rafael Jodar Qualified on Friday | 3,234 | |
| Qualified: 8 of 8 places | |||
| 10 | Alex de Minaur Paris: lost to Tomas Martin Etcheverry | 3,170 | |
| 11 | Taylor Fritz Paris: lost to Carlos Alcaraz | 3,050 | |
| 12 | Novak Djokovic Paris: lost to Rinky Hijikata | 2,940 | |
| 13 | Tommy Paul Paris: lost to Ben Shelton | 2,925 | |
PIF ATP Live Race to Turin, points since Jan. 1, after Friday’s quarter-finals, from the ATP media notes and the points for each round. Sinner is out for the season, so the top nine excluding him qualify.
Fritz and Paul both fall in the Paris quarter-finals
Fritz, who beat Fils 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday, needed to reach the semi-finals to pass Jodar. He won the first-set tie-break 12-10 and held two match points, but Alcaraz came back to win after two hours and 45 minutes.
Paul needed the final to pass Jodar. Shelton hit 19 aces to beat him and reach his first semi-final in Paris, where he will face Frenchman Luca Van Assche.
Fritz ends the race 11th on 3,050 points and Paul 13th on 2,925.
How Tiafoe and Jodar took the last two places
Tiafoe, eighth on 3,390 points, lost in the second round to Quentin Halys after holding four match points. He could only miss Turin if Paul won the title by beating Fritz in the final, and Shelton’s win ended that possibility.
Jodar needed both Americans to lose before the semi-finals. He had already survived Wednesday, when Alex de Minaur, who would have passed him with one win, lost 7-6 (2), 6-3 to Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Stockholm will change nothing, but two alternates will be in Turin
The Stockholm Open (Nov. 8-14), the last ATP event before Turin, cannot change the order. As the ATP had anticipated before Friday’s quarter-finals, the defeats of Paul and Fritz completed the field, even though Fritz is the top seed in Stockholm.
The 10th and 11th players in the race, de Minaur and Fritz, will travel to Turin as alternates. They will only play if one of the eight qualifiers withdraws before or during the tournament.
Both played in Turin last year. De Minaur beat Fritz 7-6 (3), 6-3 in the group stage and reached the semi-finals, where he lost 7-5, 6-2 to Sinner. Fritz, a finalist in 2024, went out in the round-robin.
A withdrawal cannot be ruled out. Cobolli did not play a match in Paris, where he withdrew with a left leg injury. Fils did play in Paris, but he had retired against Fritz in the quarter-finals in Basel the week before. Nothing yet guarantees that both will be on court in Turin.
