Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the season-ending ATP Finals after failing to recover from a shoulder injury, with Lorenzo Musetti taking his place.

Musetti lost to Djokovic in the final of the Athens Open on Saturday, the 38-year-old making history by becoming the oldest man to win on the ATP Tour, one that appeared to deny the Italian his spot in the Turin finals, Felix Auger-Aliassime instead claiming the eighth and final spot.

Musetti, however, was quickly confirmed as Djokovic’s replacement after his loss in three sets. Djokovic was wearing shoulder strapping in Greece and has struggled physically all season.

It has been the best season of Musetti’s career, with the 23-year-old reaching his first ATP Masters 1000 final in Monte-Carlo. He will replace Djokovic in the Jimmy Connors group. Alexander Bublik is now the first alternate with a second singles alternate to be found.

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Highlights of the Moselle Open match between Cameron Norrie and Lorenzo Sonego

The withdrawal comes after the Serb matched Roger Federer’s record of having qualified for the tournament on 18 occasions.

He posted on his Instagram story: “I was really looking forward to competing in Turin and giving my best but after today’s final in Athens, I’m sad to share that I need to withdraw due to an ongoing injury.

“I’m truly sorry to the fans who were hoping to see me play – your support means so much. I wish all the players an amazing tournament, and I can’t wait to be back on the court with you all soon.”

Who has qualified for the ATP Finals?

Carlos Alcaraz (Spain)

Jannik Sinner (Italy)

Alexander Zverev (Germany)

Lorenzo Musetti (Serbia)

Ben Shelton (USA)

Taylor Fritz (USA)

Alex de Minaur (Australia)

Felix Auger-Aliassime (Canada)

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Novak Djokovic had spoken about the challenges of getting older this week

Alcaraz bounced back from his disappointing performance in Turin last year, where he failed to progress beyond the group stage, to become the first player to secure his spot in the season finale this year.

He lost an epic Wimbledon final to Sinner, but that was enough to confirm his place at the event for the fourth consecutive year.

Sinner joined Alcaraz at the ATP Finals soon after. The home favourite has a 10-2 win record at the event.

This will be the Italian’s fourth appearance and third consecutive feature at the event where he hopes to continue his run of success, having only fallen to Djokovic – who was third to qualify – in the last two editions.

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Highlights of Felix Auger-Aliassime against Jannik Sinner in the final of the Rolex Paris Masters

Two-time ATP Finals champion Zverev was the fourth player to confirm his place in Turin when he advanced to the Vienna semi-finals in October.

This is the German’s eighth time qualifying for the year-end championships, with his titles having come in 2018 and 2021.

After an agonising defeat in the final last year, Fritz was fifth to confirm his return for the season finale at the end of October during the Paris Masters.

Last year in his second appearance at the tournament, Fritz defeated former champions Daniil Medvedev and Zverev on his route to the final, but will be hoping to go one better this year.

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Carlos Alcaraz says he plays his best tennis when he’s enjoying himself and feels he’s found the right path, heading into the ATP Finals

The sixth and seventh spots were taken by De Minaur and Shelton as they reached the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters.

Before De Minaur, the last Australian to reach the ATP Finals was Lleyton Hewitt in 2004, but the Aussie will now be making his second consecutive appearance at the season-end event.

Shelton will be making his event debut after his career-best season which saw him make his second major semi-final and claim his maiden ATP Masters 1000 victory.

The eighth and final spot went to Auger-Aliassime, Musetti then replacing Djokovic following the Serb’s withdrawal.

What is the format of the ATP Finals?

The ATP Finals has a round-robin format, with eight players divided into two groups of four. The eight seeds are determined by the ATP Race To Turin rankings on the Monday after the last ATP Tour tournament of the calendar year.

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Highlights of Jannik Sinner against Carlos Alcaraz from the US Open Final

Bjorn Borg group

[2] Jannik Sinner
[3] Alexander Zverev
[5] Ben Shelton
[8] Felix Auger-Aliassime

Jimmy Connors group

[1] Carlos Alcaraz
[4] Lorenzo Musetti
[6] Taylor Fritz
[7] Alex de Minaur

All singles matches are then the best of three tie-break sets, including the final.

The top-seeded player is placed in Group A and the second-seeded player into Group B. The remaining six players are then drawn into the groups. Each player plays the three other players in his group.

The winner of each group (best overall record) is placed in a separate semi-final bracket, with the top player in Group A playing the runner-up in Group B, and vice versa.

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Taylor Fritz reviews his season so far and the improvements he has to make when facing top seeds Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz

If two or more players are tied after the round-robin matches, the ties are broken by a tie-break procedure, using – in order – most wins, most matches played and head-to-head results if only two players are tied. If three players are tied, a player having played less than all three matches is automatically eliminated; or highest percentage of sets won; or highest percentage of games won; or the player positions on the ATP Rankings.

ATP Finals schedule

November 9 – Jimmy Connors Group

November 10 – Bjorn Borg Group

November 11 – Jimmy Connors Group

November 12 – Bjorn Borg Group

November 13 – Jimmy Connors Group

November 14 – Bjorn Borg Group

November 15 – Semi-finals

November 16 – Final

ATP Finals prize money and ranking points

Players earn 200 points per round-robin match victory, 400 points for a semi-final win and 500 points for winning the tournament – meaning the race to finish the year as No. 1 is going to the wire.

A record £12m ($15.5m) in total prize money is also up for grabs, with an undefeated champion in Turin standing to bank nearly £4m ($5.07m).

Who is the defending champion?

Sinner last year beat Fritz 6-4 6-4 in what was a rematch of the 2024 US Open final.

Home favourite Sinner, who also won the Australian Open and the US Open last year, became the first Italian to win the tournament and the first player to win the season-ending title without dropping a set since the legendary Ivan Lendl in 1986.

This year the defending champion’s success has only continued to flow, as he won two more Grand Slams – Australian Open and Wimbledon – either side of a three-month suspension that followed a doping case.

However, his rivalry with Alcaraz has intensified with the pair meeting in the final of the French and US Open where the Spaniard took the wins. Recently Alcaraz had even temporarily knocked Sinner off the No.1 spot before he quickly reclaimed his position.

Keep track of the full tennis schedule live on Sky Sports.