Paris (France) (AFP) - The curtain will be drawn on the identity of all eight players who have qualified for the ATP Finals in Turin, after the conclusion of the Paris 1000 Tennis Tournament, which ends on November 8, but before this final test, some hopefuls are suffering from physical problems.

Published on: 02/11/2026 - 12:27

Italian Flavio Copoli, runner-up at Roland Garros and ranked sixth in the world, and Frenchman Artur Wiess, seventh, suffered physical setbacks as they sought to qualify for the first time in the final tournament, which begins on November 15 and concludes on the 22nd.

Copoli was forced to withdraw in tears on Thursday from the second round of the Vienna tournament (500 points) due to a “slight muscle tear,” as if his chance to appear in Turin had evaporated.

The 24-year-old player arrived in the French capital, and although he was not included in the training program on Sunday, he stressed that he would do “everything in my power” to participate.

Copoli is the first to pursue the four players who have already guaranteed their qualification: German Alexander Zverev, Spanish Carlos Alcarras, American Ben Shelton and Russian Daniil Medvedev. The Italian is the most likely to reserve the fifth seat out of eight in Turin.

Also, the injury of Italian Jannik Sinner, ranked first in the world, in his right knee, despite his qualification for the final tournament and his absence until the end of the season, gives his compatriot an additional margin of safety.

Sinner's long absence means that the player ranked ninth in the rankings will qualify for the season-ending tournament.

Copoli occupies sixth place in the race, and is chased in order by Face, American Frances Tiafoe, then Australian Alex de Minaur, who is in ninth place and the last of the current qualifiers to Turin.

But Weiss was also forced to withdraw on Friday from the quarter-finals of the Basel tournament (500 points).

The 22-year-old Frenchman, who in 2025 suffered a stress fracture in the back that kept him out of the field for many months, appeared to be bothered in the lower back on the left side, but he cited an injury to the “left leg” as the official reason for his withdrawal to the tournament organizers.

"I feel good. My body is fine," the Frenchman said during the pre-session press conference in Paris on Sunday.

He confirmed that his participation in the last thousand-point tournament this season was “100% certain,” before he went through an hour-long training session on the main field without showing any suffering.

Spaniard Rafael Khodar, who is ranked tenth in the race, is only one point behind De Minaur, who missed the opportunity to expand the gap after losing the Vienna tournament final to Alcarras on Sunday.

“(The possibilities) are pretty much open.”

Serbian Novak Djokovic, ranked eleventh and seven-time winner in the French capital, and American Taylor Fritz, ranked twelfth, must reach at least the semi-finals if they want to maintain their hopes of reaching Turin.

As for American Tommy Paul, thirteenth, he needs to achieve an achievement, which is to reach his first final in one of the thousand-point tournaments in Paris, while waiting for his competitors to exit early.

At the final moment of the qualification race for Turin, Paris tournament director Cédric Pioline points out that “there is a lot of tension.”

The former world number five adds, "There are those who have their fate in their hands, and there are those who need intersecting results depending on the results of others. This is what makes it exciting."

Although Zverev will inaugurate his new position as world number one on Monday in Paris, Pioline does not dare name a clear candidate to win the title.

The tournament director says, “(The possibilities) are really wide open. At the end of the season, we always know that there are players who are tired and suffering from some pain here and there.”

This may open the door to surprises in the 40th edition of the tournament, which has previously crowned players such as American Jack Sock in 2017 and Russian Karen Khachanov a year later.

© 2026 AFP

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