Hard to believe, but the FTL2026 season is a little over a month away!! Due to a few big changes, the 2026 season isn't available yet on the NEXTGENFTL website, but it will be available before Christmas :).
For those that are looking for a glimpse as to what the prices will look like to start the season at the Aussie Open, below is a list of the 20 highest valued players!
Massive kuddos goes out to our Overall Winner - Dragan (Nadal's Forehand) He accumulated an incredible 16115.665 points for the season, and won the overall by 67.6 points. Not only did he win the overall, but he also won the FTL Cup!!! ZERO IDEA how you win both lol - there's only a few ppl that have ever won the Overall, he's now the first person to ever win the FTL Cup, forget winning both in the same season!
Dragan may have won the overall, but for most of the season it felt like it was anyones game. In fact, there was a couple of prolonged periods where it felt like we could have a different winner. After Michael Blomer (ThunderTurkeys) finished in the top 3 in both March and April, he took a substantial lead and led for a prolonged period. Shortly there after, Sagar (Goaldies) took the lead for 5 or 6 weeks but had an incredibly poor stretch where he finished outside the top 50 in both June and July.
Dragan didn't win a single GameWeek or Month this season, but continued to put up top 20 result after top 20 result each month and by the time October hit, he had a 150+ point lead. But in the FTL, no lead is safe, especially during the Asian-Swing that's full of Semi-Blind draws, so it makes the results even more volatile. Hell all it takes is a couple of poor results, injuries or ill-timed withdrawals and you can lose a few hundred points in no time. Sure enough during the Penultimate week, it appeared as though Dragan's lead was going to disappear! Instead, Pegula couldn't find a way to close out Rybakina in the WTA Finals, and Djokovic withdrew from Turin!! I'm not a big believer in Karma, but this result felt like the Karma Gods did Dragan a massive favour! For those that don't know, a couple of years ago, Dragan was in 2nd place with 3 weeks to go, and due to a family obligation, missed the lockout. When I inquired about it, he didn't blame technology or anything else, just simply accepted the result of a horrible situation!
Nikhil (nbladeweilder) finished 2nd. I'm sure for most of the season he felt like he was out of contention for the top 10 forget the top prize, but his team got scorching hot over the final 4 months as he finished 5th in August, 2nd in October and 3rd in November! Like I described earlier, if Pegula beats Rybakina (its literally a point here or there from her doing so) in the WTA Finals, and Djokovic fulfills the expectation of playing in the ATP Finals, he ends up doing the unthinkable and winning the whole damn thing, while only leading the Overall for 1 week!! I'm sure that he'll take plenty of solace out of the fact that he won 2 Months, and 2 Game Weeks!!
Alex (broccoli) finished 3rd, 95 points behind Nikhil. Alex didn't win a single GameWeek or Month but was actually sitting in 2nd place with about a month to go in the season. Its an incredible result, but it looked like trades were an issue for his final few weeks, so like many of us, I'm sure that he felt like his hands were tied and was just hoping for the best.
Mathieu (NEW CAL ACES 🎾🏝️) finished 4th, 29 points behind Alex. Mat finished 2nd at the Aussie Open and was 3rd in the First Month, and was in contention all season, but just couldn't find a way to get across the line. Similar to Alex, Mat had trade issues, as he only had 1 trade left for the final 3 weeks, and was lucky that Djokovic withdrew from Turin.
Our 2023 Overall Champion Aoun (Fedex Superstars) finished 5th, 140 points behind Mathieu, and just 4.5 points ahead of one of our GOAT's Vlad. Its his 3rd straight top 5 finish!! Aoun was in the big cluster of managers that won the final GW of the season. Sadly for Aoun, it never felt like he was in contention to really win the Overall this season, but its still a hell of a finish.
I'd like to offer a shoutout to the rest of our top 10:
6. Vlad (Rafa) - he's one of the GOAT's for a reason, even during an off season, he still finished in the top 10.
7. Sagar (Goaldies) - felt like a what if type of season. He was soo good for soo long, but it appeared as though he got too caught up on being in the lead, that he lost focus of his salary cap and the number of trades that he was using, and eventually paid for it. (you cant play the final 3 to 4 months with your hands tied behind your back)
8. Tricia (Prepare for CzechMate) - her run of top 3 finishes finally came to a close (like 5 in a row?) - had to happen sooner or later!
9. Gord (Gordon Trailers) - probably should have finished 4th, but the decision to trade in a sick Paolini instead of Rybakina at the WTA Finals will haunt him
10. Jamie (The Umpire Strikes Back) - back to back top 10 seasons for Jamie. Thats special!
This weeks champs
Elena Rybakina (WTA Finals Riyadh)
Lerner Tien (Metz)
Novak Djokovic (Athens)
To Riyadh first and the WTA Tour Finals.
The quest for Elena Rybakina to overhaul Mirra Andreeva and reach the top 8 was the main storyline at the end of the WTA season. As Andreeva's season faltered both Jasmine Paolini and Elena Rybakina finished the season strongly. Paolini secured her spot by making the semi finals in Wuhan and Ningbo and Rybakina won the title in Ningbo and completed the job in Tokyo by reaching the semi finals.
Andreeva had to settle for a spot in the doubles contest but as it turned out, Mirra was one of three players who was unwell at Riyadh along with Paolini and Madison Keys.
But Rybakina was feeling great when she arrived in Riyadh - confidence high after her run of impressive results and it was quickly apparent that the conditions in Riyadh would be perfect for her game. Many pundits were already picking her as a dark horse who could upset the top two of Swiatek and Sabalenka.
And she started off brightly dispatching Anisimova 6-3, 6-1 in her opening match. Even more surprising was the manner in which she demolished Iga Swiatek after losing the first set of their encounter. She lost just one game in the next two sets. That was enough to secure qualification and a final win over Alexandrova who replaced the ill Madison Keys was academic but preserved her unbeaten status.
Iga Swiatek and Amanada Anisimova battled it out for the 2nd place spot and Anisimova, who was finally finding her feet on the Riyadh courts came out on top. Despite Iga still have a strong season on tour, the manner of some of her defeats will be a concern to her and her team going into 2026.
With Paolini under the weather, the Stefanie Group was always going to between world no 1 Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Jess Pegula and it was always a possibility that the opening match between Gauff and Pegula would be crucial. It was a bit of a dire affair if truth be told, Coco's serve and forehand issues continued to haunt her and she loss to J-Peg in three sets.
Aryna was pushed by Pegula and Gauff but managed to overcome them both to finish the group on top with an unblemished record.
If the group stages perhaps didn't catch fire - the semi finals were crackers. Sabalenka was pushed all the way by Anisimova and Rybakina once again came from a set down to defeat Pegula.
That left us with a dream final with the two undefeated group winners Rybakina and Sabalenka. Rybakina just kept on rolling, putting in a sterling performance to win 6-3, 7-6 and secure a modest total of 5.235 million in winnings as an undefeated champion!
Athens
The penultimate week of the ATP Season also carried significant weight in terms of Tour Finals qualification. Lorenzo Musetti went into the Athens event knowing he had to win it to regain his place in the top 8 from Felix Auger Aliassime who had overtaken him in the race at the Paris Masters. FAA was also down to play in Metz but decided to withdraw due to a niggling injury and just took the risk hoping that Musetti wouldn't get it done.
FAA must have been watching from behind the sofa as Musetti came from a set down to beat Wawrinka, beat Muller and then came through a tough battle with Korda to reach the final.
The opponent? Novak Djokovic of course. Novak had of course long since qualified for the tour finals but there were questions about his participation in Turin for months and Novak was in no mood to clarify the position, An announcement by the Italian federation that he was playing was quickly dismissed by Novak as premature!
So, as far as Musetti was concerned, he had to win that final! He started well, winning the first set but Novak was not to be denied in front of his adopted Greek fans. Musetti lost the 2nd set and was quickly a break behind in the 3rd set but he kept coming back only to be broken again by Novak.
So Djokovic prevailed and secured his 101st ATP title but it didn't take him long to confirm what most of us expected. He would not be participating at the tour finals in Turin and apparently Musetti was the first to know when they shook hands at the net!
It must have been mixed feelings for Lorenzo - on the one hand the joy of knowing he would be able to compete in the tour finals in his own country and actually benefit from a higher seeded spot as Novak's replacement but on the other hand, he would have probably preferred a week of rest prior to the event. Had Novak's mind been made up before Athens? Possibly... but its also possible that an early exit in Athens might have given him the motivation and preparation time to compete in Turin.
Metz
The Metz final was contested between Cameron Norrie and Lerner Tien.
Cam seems to be rediscovering his form after going through a bit of a rough patch and Lerner Tien continues to gain admirers with his aggressive brand of tennis.
This will be the last year of the Metz event which is a shame as it always attracts a sizeable audience and Norrie and Tien did not let them down in a thrilling final. Norrie recovered from a 1-4 deficit in the final set to force a tie break and he appeared to have the match within his grasp as he took a 5-1 lead in the tie break only for Tien to come roaring back to win the title!
Here is the Global League Table for the game week:
Congratulations to our four champs in Game Week 32.
Paris Masters - Jannik Sinner
Hong Kong - Victoria Mboko
Jiujiang - Anna Blinkova
Chennai - Janice Tjen
Paris Masters roundup
Jannik Sinner continues to dominate on indoor hard courts. He now has a winning streak of 26 matches in a row over a two year period which is still far short of the remarkable run of John McEnroe who won 47 consecutive matches over a 9 year period between 1978 and 1987.
In the process, Jannik reclaimed the no 1 spot in the rankings with Carlos Alcaraz a surprise early exit at the hands of Britain's Cameron Norrie.
Sinner continued his domineering form from Vienna as he did not drop a set all week en route to the final dispatching Bergs, Cerundolo, Shelton and an ailing Zverev with ease.
His opponent in the final was Felix Auger Aliassime who was making a remarkable late bid to snatch the last spot at the Tour Finals away from the present incumbent Lorenzo Musetti. A victory in the final for FAA would have secured his spot but by falling short in the final against Sinner, it left the door open for Musetti to recover his positon if he wins Athens.
FAA has the option to play in Metz in the last week of the season but chose to skip the week due to physical issues and has therefore opened the door for Lorenzo who, as I type this has made it to the semi finals in Athens. It will be very interesting if his fate depends on a final against Novak Djokovic. Needless to say, one or two players may be missing from the ATP Finals photoshoot.
Hong Kong
Congrats to Victoria Mboko on winning her 2nd WTA title. The talented Canadian youngster stunned the tennis world when she won the 1000 title in Montreal earlier this year. Since then her form has been a bit patchy but she was back to her best in Hong Kong.
She had to fight for it though. Three sets were required to see off another breakthrough star in the shape of Alexanrda Eala in the 2nd Round. And she needed to go the distance again to see off in form compatriot Leylah Fernandez.
The final itself was another terrific battle. She faced the Spaniard Cristina Bucsa and looked to be in control at a set and a break up but Bucsa fought back taking the 2nd set after a thrilling tie break but in the end it was Mboko who took control in the third.
Jiangxi Open
One of the stories of the week in Jiujiang was the performance of young Lilli Tagger - an Austrian 17 year old who was playing her first WTA Tour level event after winning the French Open juniors earlier this year.
Lilli defeated Chenting Zhu, Cocciaretto and Korpatsch to set up a semi final with Victoria Golubic. That proved to be a terrific struggle with Lilli fighting back to secure a three set win setting up a final with the Russian Anna Blinkova.
Blinky (does anyone else call her that or just me?) had a terrific week and did not drop a set on her path to the final which included wins over Paquet, Bondar, Parks and Salkova. Perhaps a little bit of experience helped as Blinkova comfortably won the final to win her 2nd WTA title.
Did anyone see Blinky's acceptance speech delivered in Mandarin. (she had even been chatting to fans in Mandarin a language which she has only recently started studying.) Blinky is a bit of a polyglot who is already proficient in English, French, Italian, Spanish and Slovakian.
Chennai
And finally to Chennai and another new name who is making waves on the WTA tennis circuit this year. That would be Janice Tjen of Malaysia - a popular pick with many FTLers this week.
Janice has won 14 titles at ITF and Challenger level over the last two years and attracted some interest when she qualified for the US Open and defeated Veronika Kudermetova before losing in the 2nd round to Raducanu,
She very nearly won her first WTA title shortly after that, reaching the final in Sao Paulo where she lost to Rakotomanga Rajaonah of France.
But she finally secured her first WTA title of her career in India defeating the Australian Kimberly Birrell in the final.
Here is the Global FTL table for the Game Week.
Congratulations to our game week winner JK2025 (Jakub) who had an outstanding week, amassing a total of 627.547 points which was almost 40 points more than Violet's Grass Court Masters in 2nd place.
Lets take a look at Jakub's team...
Jakub could hardly have a picked a better starting quartet. Jannik Sinner as Captain (ok we pretty much all had him apart from a few opportunists who went with Alcaraz) but also the other three semi finalists were all there as Key Players. If that's not enough Jakub also had WTA Hong Kong winner Victoria Mboko and also had a decent return from Valentin Vacherot who did pretty well in Paris. All in all an incredible week!
Turning to level 2 - the battle for the weekly prize was between Grass Court Masters (Violet) and Prepare for Czech Mate (Tricia)
Here is the head to head between the two teams
Two almost identical sides to be honest. Both captained Sinner and had two other Paris semi finalists in FAA and Zverev. Both were savvy in joining the Janice Tjen train and played her as a KP. The only difference was that Violet picked a third winner in the shape of Mboko and also played her as a KP. Tricia's Medvedev scored well but couldn't match the points Victoria secured in Hong Kong.
Congrats to both on a great week.
Four champs to congratulate this week!
ATP 500 Swiss Indoors
First up - its a huge congratulations to Joao Fonseca who won his 2nd ATP final of the year beating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the final. Fonseca maybe hasn't had the breakout year many were predicting but it has still been pretty decent and this win has bolstered his ranking going in 2026. The wait for a first ATP title goes on for ADF - five times finalist but still to get his first winners trophy.
Two of the main contenders for an ATP Tour fianls slot, FAA and Ruud both ended up retiring in the Quarter Finals along with Shapovalov. And there was a further retirement in the semi final with Humbert - strange goings on in Basel!!
WTA 500 Tokyo
The main storyline for this event was whether Elena Rybakina could win the two matches she needed to reach the semi finals and ensure her qualification for the WTA finals in Riyadh.
It wasn't an easy draw for her and she had to beat two talented Canadian youngsters in the shape of Leylah Fernandez and Victoria Mboko. But Elena got it done without dropping a set and promptly withdrew from her semi final with Linda Noskova!
The winner was Belinda Bencic who has had a terrific year since returning to the tour from having her first child. She now sits at No 11 in the rankings. This was her 10th career title and her 2nd since returning as a mum.
WTA 250 Guangzhou
It was third time lucky for Ann Li this year. She had already made finals in Singapore and Cleveland this year but this was her first trophy. A good week too for Lulu Sun who has struggled to reach her best level this year and just fell short in the final with Ann winning 7-6, 6-2.
ATP 500 Vienna
The top seeds lived up to their billing in the Vienna event. Sinner, De Minaur, Zverev and Musetti all made it to the semi finals and there is a good chance we will see all 4 of them in Turin at the end of the season although FAA is hot on the heels of Musetti.
And it was the top two who made the final. Zverev will be pleased he is ending the season strongly after a number of injury issues and he pushed Sinner close in the final but couldn't stop the Italian extending his indoor winning streak.
Here is the final FTL table for the game week.
Massive congrats to Win Matas who is this weeks game week champ with a terrific total of 477 points. A victory for perseverance as Win has being waiting for that elusive game week title for some time. Mark McDonald was the best of the rest finishing just 23 points back.
Here is the head to head between the two:
A pretty close run contest between these two teams. Mark was off to a little bit of a false start as he had still included Pegula despite the fact that she had called time on her Asian swing long before this event! No matter though Berrettini turned out to be an adequate substitute!
Both teams had a significant WTA differential in their team with Win backing Tokyo winner Belinda Bencic as a key player and Mark fielding Guangzhou winner Ann Li.
Zverev perhaps was the key differential between these two teams scoring 63 points for Win, as runner up in Vienna.
Congrats to Win and Mark on a great week!
I have attached the Draws (FTL Version) and Dark Horse Breakdown for The Paris Masters (Mens Event). Please note that there was a long list of midmatch retirements and withdrawals in both Basel and Vienna, so we could easily see some changes before the Main Draw starts on Monday. A couple of withdrawals have already occurred (Benjamin Bonzi, and Jakub Mensik)
I've also provided the Draws for the 3 womens events - Hong Kong, Jiangxi, and Chennai. Since the draws initially came out, 3 Lucky Losers were added to Chennai as Ana-Lena Friedsam, Lulu Sun, and Lucrezia Stefanini all withdrew. No changes have been made to either Hong Kong or Jiangxi, but that almost feels like a matter of time, so keep your eye out.
Do not forget to select your Dark Horse for the Mens event in Paris
If you want a copy, click on the link, GW32 DRAWS Once you do so, click on FILE, and scroll to MAKE A COPY, and call it whatever you want
Hard to believe, but the FTL2026 season is a little over a month away!! Due to a few big changes, the 2026 season isn't available yet o...
