The big names still looking to debut their trophy cabinet this season

Carlos Navarro | 14 Oct 2025 | 22.45

Daniil Medvedev has not yet opened his trophy cabinet in 2025. Source: Getty

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The ATP calendar does not offer a break and, already in the tenth month of competition, sets its sights on a new tour. The indoor hard court provides shelter for big servers, a slightly faster tennis with less physical demand, and pavilions where we can take refuge from the European winter cold. Not only that: it represents the last opportunity for several heavyweights on the circuit (ahem, Daniil Medvedev) to kick off their record in this 2025.

It may sound illogical or strange, but the ATP ranking hosts several players in its top echelons... without having conquered a single crown this season. Consistency, solidity, and a few significant finals have, in fact, allowed two particular players to hold a place in the top-10 without emerging victorious (yet) in this 2025. These names are Lorenzo Musetti and Karen Khachanov, two players who will want to make the most of this time of year.

For Lolo himself, the motivation is triple: first, to fulfill the stated objective and not turn over the final page of the blank book. Second, to break a terrible streak in title matches that haunts him: he has not lifted any trophy since 2022, when precisely at this time of year he won his second ATP title (in Naples). The defeats in the finals of Monte Carlo and Chengdu (the latter very recent and in a match where he started as a clear favorite against Tabilo) still echo in the mind of a Lolo who, lastly, still pursues a ticket to the ATP Finals (difficult, but not impossible).

In Khachanov's case, his place in the top-10 is secured by his great tournament in Canada, where, however, he fell just one step short of the title. The indoor tour conditions suit the Russian like a glove, and perhaps he is the best positioned on the list to break the ice; in fact, this same week he emerges as the main favorite in Almaty, but his options are not limited to the Kazakh event: remember his success at Paris-Bercy 2018, with flat, aggressive tennis at times and a strong serve to increase his chances.

Medvedev or Davidovich, illustrious names in a long list

It is impossible not to mention a Daniil Medvedev who showed glimpses of improvement during the Asian tour, but was once again betrayed by his mental demons in the semifinals of both Beijing (lost to Tien) and Shanghai (lost to Rinderknech). Missed opportunities to heal a wound that oozes more and more, without titles since Rome 2023, but for which he seems to have changed recipes and nurses (his new coaches, with Johansson at the helm, encourage him to be more aggressive... a perfect plan for the surfaces that lie ahead). Perhaps a crown in Vienna or Paris-Bercy would not only allow him to finish the year with a title but also serve as the perfect boost to bring back the best Daniil in 2026.

Alejandro Davidovich is, of all mentioned players, the one who has shown the most evolution this year. Stringing together more weeks than ever, going far in tournaments, being relatively consistent throughout the campaign, and getting closer than ever to a title. Nevertheless, the two lost finals (Acapulco and Washington) weigh heavily on the shoulders of a chameleonic, versatile player who perhaps would prefer slightly slower courts to those that lie ahead, but still with good opportunities (including the Brussels tournament, played this same week) to break free from his biggest chains.

Within the top-50, this select list expands with players who, albeit with greater odds, are expected to "save" their trophy cabinet. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard poses the greatest threat on a stage where he already proved in 2024 (champion in Basel defeating Shelton) that he masters like few others. Arthur Rinderknech or Zizou Bergs emerge as dark horses of this tour: they are in the prime of their sporting careers, have a playing style that inflicts significant damage on the surface, and their possible debut would not only mean the first title of the year but also the first of their careers, a positive motivation rather than a situation to reverse. Which other player needs to assert himself and win in this end of the year? We are reading your comments.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Los grandes nombres que (aún) buscan estrenar su palmarés esta temporada

Daniil Medvedev