ATP Finals: 4 non-European players, a first since 2005
For the first time since 2005, half of the ATP Finals lineup comes from outside Europe.
For the past two decades, the ATP Finals had almost become an exclusive showcase for the European giants. Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray, then Alcaraz and Sinner: Europe dominated everything.
But this year, four players from the United States, Australia, and Canada are joining the prestigious Tour Finals: Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz, Alex de Minaur, and Félix Auger-Aliassime.
Thus, you have to go back to 2005 to find a similar scenario. That year, the names of Gastón Gaudio (Argentinian), David Nalbandian (Argentinian), Mariano Puerta (Argentinian), Fernando González (Chilean), Guillermo Coria (Argentinian), and Nikolay Davydenko (Russian) were featured alongside Roger Federer and Ivan Ljubičić.
It should be noted that Gaudio replaced Hewitt (his wife giving birth), Nalbandian replaced Roddick (back injury), Puerta replaced Nadal (foot injury), and González replaced Agassi (ankle injury).