Jannik Sinner capped the ATP season on the highest possible note: in the championship match at the ATP Finals he defeated Carlos Alcaraz 7–6, 7–5 and successfully defended last year's title. In the current edition of the event the Italian put together his tenth consecutive victory and, for the second year in a row, lifted the trophy without dropping a single set. That run put him into a unique elite club – he is now one of the very few players in history who have managed to win the year-end championships two seasons running, and to do it in such a dominant fashion.
Club of Unchanging Champions: The Elite of the ATP Finals
In the 56-year history of the ATP Finals, before Sinner only eight players had managed to win the tournament several times in a row. This is more than just a title – it is a litmus test of stability and the ability to maintain the very highest level against the best opponents of the season. There are no accidental names on this list: each of them is a legend who defined an entire era in men's tennis.
Ilie Nastase: Bold Pioneer of the Masters Finals Era
Romanian star Ilie Nastase became the main hero of the first editions of the ATP year-end tournament. He won four of the opening six stagings, including three in a row at a time when he was simultaneously world No. 1 and collecting trophies at Grand Slam events. In those years the tournament moved to a new city each season, but wherever it was held Nastase remained the central figure and the face of the event.
Björn Borg: The Ice-Cold King of Madison Square Garden
The golden period of Björn Borg fell on the late 1970s and early 1980s. Over that stretch he captured 11 Grand Slam titles and won the ATP Finals twice in a row, at a time when the tournament was being staged for more than ten straight years at New York's Madison Square Garden. For the ice-cool Swede it was the perfect stage: an indoor court, a feverish atmosphere and matches only against the elite of the tour.
Ivan Lendl: The Iron Five-Time Champion of New York
Ivan Lendl became the first five-time champion of the ATP Finals and the first player ever to win the tournament in back-to-back years without dropping a single set – and he did it in an era of best-of-five-set finals. He collected all of his titles in New York, splitting them into two dominant stretches. Lendl finished four championship matches in straight sets, and only Vitas Gerulaitis managed to push the deciding match to a fifth set, forcing a genuine battle (Lendl still ground out the win, taking the deciding set 6–4).
John McEnroe: Where the Year-End Event Outlasted the Slams
For John McEnroe the ATP Finals turned into a source of success that proved even more long-lasting than the Grand Slam tournaments. He claimed his first title there in 1979 and his last in 1984 – the year he lifted his final trophies at Wimbledon and the US Open. His game on indoor hard courts combined aggressive returning, finely crafted serves and his trademark work at the net – an ideal toolkit for a format that brought together only the strongest players.
Pete Sampras: King of Two German Arenas
Pete Sampras became the first player to win five ATP Finals titles in two different cities – Frankfurt and Hanover. He managed to defend the trophy once, in 1997, when he defeated Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the final. A year earlier Sampras had overcome Boris Becker in a legendary five-set championship match that featured three tie-breaks (3–6, 7–6, 7–6, 6–7, 6–4) – a textbook contest for fans of high-tension tennis played right on the edge.
Lleyton Hewitt: Home Magic and a Shanghai Thriller
In 2001 Lleyton Hewitt pulled off a rare feat by winning the ATP Finals at home in Sydney. A year later he confirmed his champion status again, this time in Shanghai. In the title match against Juan Carlos Ferrero the Australian almost let his comfortable lead in sets slip away and decided everything only in the fifth set, once more demonstrating his trademark fighting spirit and readiness to battle to the very last rally.
Roger Federer: Six-Time Master of Different Arenas
Roger Federer rewrote the history of the ATP Finals, setting a record with six titles. He won his first in 2003 – the last edition in which the final could still be played as a best-of-five. Later he triumphed in three different cities and every time defeated a new opponent in the championship match. Among those beaten in the final was Rafael Nadal, while Novak Djokovic was the rival Federer could not overcome at that stage. The year-end championships became one of the most striking symbols of his long-term dominance on tour.
Novak Djokovic: The Habit of Rewriting Records
Federer's record, like so many others, was eventually surpassed by Novak Djokovic – the Serbian now owns seven ATP Finals titles, collected in three distinct stretches (including his triumph in 2008). Djokovic was also the last player to beat Jannik Sinner on indoor hard courts before the Italian's current streak. After that loss Sinner produced an incredible run – 19 consecutive victories, a first Davis Cup title, a first Grand Slam trophy – and deservedly climbed to the top of the world rankings.
Jannik Sinner: Home Hero and New Benchmark for a Generation
In recent years the ATP Finals have almost turned into a home event for Sinner – and the reason is not only the location but also his level of comfort on that court. For three seasons in a row he has reached the final every time and twice has claimed the trophy without losing a single set. After the 2025 edition Jannik became the most successful player in the history of the tournament in terms of matches won, overtaking its first multi-time champion Ilie Nastase.
A New Chapter in the History of the ATP Finals
With his two flawless campaigns in succession Jannik Sinner has not simply added another trophy to his collection – he has also signalled a generational shift at the summit of men's tennis. Today his name stands alongside Nastase, Borg, Lendl, Federer and Djokovic – the players who turned the ATP Finals into their own territory. And if he can maintain this level of stability, the year-end championships will more than once again become the stage on which the Italian leader confirms his status as the brightest star of the new decade.
