The final of the 2025 Next Gen ATP Finals is here as American Learner Tien takes on Belgian Alexander Blockx in a showdown between the two top seeds of the tournament.

While Tien, a top-30 player in the world, enters the final as the clear favourite, Blockx’s level all week has been incredibly high—high enough to make this a competitive match. We at LWOT have a complete match guide for you before the Sunday showdown between the two up-and-coming 20-year-olds.

Path to the final

Despite being ranked outside the world’s top 100, Blockx has played at the highest level this tournament, dropping just two sets en route to the final. His most impressive performance so far was undoubtedly his straight-sets semifinal win over Nicolai Budkov Kjaer, which included a couple of tiebreaks that showed his resolve under pressure.

For Tien, who entered the tournament as the only player ranked inside the top 50 and the prohibitive favourite, it has been an event where he has faced more challenges than many expected. He lost his opening encounter to an inspired Rafael Jodar before winning his next two round-robin matches to confirm qualification. His best performance also came in the semifinals against fellow American Nishesh Basavareddy—his only straight-sets win of the week.

It is important to note that this is Tien’s second shot at the Next Gen ATP Finals after losing last year’s final to Brazilian Joao Fonseca.

Format and surface

The match will be played in a best-of-five format, but unlike ATP Tour matches, each set is capped at four games, not six. If a set reaches 3–all, a tiebreak is played to determine the winner of the set.

For the second year running, the tournament takes place at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah on an indoor hard court.

Prize money and ranking points

An event record total prize pool of $2,101,250 was available in Jeddah, with an undefeated champion, in this year’s case, Blockx, having a shot at $539,750. The final win on its own is worth $157,250.

Although this is an ATP event, with matches counting toward head-to-head records and overall season statistics, no ranking points are awarded at this tournament.

Time and where to watch

The final is scheduled to begin at around 8:00 PM local time (12:00 PM in New York, 5:00 PM in London).

The match will be available across the United States on Tennis Channel, and will be broadcast worldwide on major sports and tennis networks.

Preview

While Tien enters the match as the one expected to win, thanks to his strong performances on the main tour and his 2025 experience, which saw him climb inside the world’s top 30 and win an ATP Tour title, this is a match where, if Blockx catches fire as he has all week, he has a real chance.

The Belgian’s serve and forehand have been the keys to his success, not only this week but across the Challenger Tour in 2025. His serve has been crisp and precise, while the forehand has been the shot of the tournament, often dictating his matches. Against Tien, a player without a huge weapon who instead absorbs pace and lures opponents into mistakes, Blockx’s serve will be crucial—and so will landing forehands consistently.

Tien, a great tactician despite his age, will be quick to target the weaker wing of Blockx and build rallies from there. Combined with his superior endurance and ability to grind, he is a tough task for anyone. If he sticks to his game plan and uses the big-match experience he has gained this year, he should be able to flip the script from last year’s final and add his name to a remarkable list of Next Gen ATP Finals champions—one that includes both Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

Main Photo Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports