Meet the two players collecting big ATP Finals prize money without hitting a ball
The ATP Finals are the most lucrative tournament of the tennis year and for two players, a huge cash windfall will come their way even though they will not hit a ball.
With the top eight players in the men’s game qualifying for the finals in Turin, tournament organisers also allocate two places for alternates who can step in if injuires derail some of the star names.
In most tournaments, selected players who lost in the final round of qualifying stay for the start of the tournament and they can drop into the draw if qualified players are forced to withdraw.
The challenge at the ATP Finals is there is no qualifying competition prior to the event, so tournament chiefs need to have a back-up plan if injuries or illness impact one of their first choice performers.
The identity of the alternates at this year’s ATP Finals was very much a last gasp decision, with Novak Djokovic’s refusal to confirm whether he would play in Turin affecting so many facets of the pre-tournament organisation.
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Felix Auger-Aliassime’s prize money and ranking points from ATP Finals
While Djokovic did not seem to be concerned with the inconvenience he caused when he pulled out of the ATP Finals, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Lorenzo Musetti were in limbo as only one of them would have qualified if the Serbian legend had opted to play.
There was no surprise when Djokovic confirmed he was pulling out the day before the ATP Finals started and even though that ended the doubts over whether Auger-Aliassime or Musetti as both were then in the draw, it did affect the alternate picks.
With Britain’s Jack Draper out injured, ATP Tour chiefs needed to move down the rankings to get their alternates and Alexander Bublik was always in line to land one of the spots.
Casper Ruud was then called up after Djokovic finally confirmed he would not play and both alternates have been practicing all week in Turin.
It looked like Bublik might get a chance to play when Auger-Aliassime appeared to pick up a leg injury on his opening match against Jannik Sinner, but the Canadian played his final two group stage matches and made it through to the semi-finals.
World No 11 Bublik would have had the first chance to play if there was an injury at the ATP Finals, but they were not called upon and have spent the week in Turin without hitting a ball in anger.
Ruud was highly unlikely to get a chance to make another appearance in the ATP Finals, but both players will still be toasting a big week of prize money even though they were not seen on court.
Bublik and Ruud will both collect $51,700 for their week in Turin and if they had played even one match, they would also have collected an appearance fee.
The prize money in Turin pushes Bublik close to the $3million in prize money for the season, while Ruud has won a little over $3.3million in a year that has included two ATP Tour title wins.
