JEDDAH/WASHINGTON, December 10 2025 (by Michael Dickens)
Germany’s Justin Engel is set to make his Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF debut next week following the withdrawal of Jakub Mensik of Czechia on medical grounds Wednesday.
The 18-year-old Engel will join last year’s runner-up Learner Tien of the United States, Alexander Blockx of Belgium, Dino Prizmic of Croatia, Martin Landaluce of Spain, Nicolai Budkov Kjaer of Norway, Nishesh Basavareddy of the United States and Rafael Jodar of Spain in the field for the 20-and-under event that takes place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from December 17-21.
Next stop: Jeddah ✈️#NextGenATPFinals | : Witters pic.twitter.com/sYPTqyg8iA
— Next Gen ATP Finals (@nextgenfinals) December 10, 2025
The 6-foot-1-inch native of Nüernberg, who is currently ranked 187th in the PIF ATP Rankings, went 12-7 in main-draw matches on the ATP Challenger Tour during the final three months of the season and won his first Challenger title. By garnering the Hamburg Ladies & Gents Cup crown on an indoor hard court surface, he became the first player born in 2007 to claim a Challenger trophy. In all competitions, Engel compiled a 40-33 win-loss record, including 4-5 in main-draw matches on the ATP Tour.
In addition to excelling on the ATP Challenger Tour through 2025, Engel enjoyed a quarterfinal run at the ATP 250 grass-court event in Stuttgart in June. He earned wins over James Duckworth of Australia and Alex Michelsen of the United States before losing to Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada. By winning his first-round match at 17 years and eight months old, he became the youngest player after Rafael Nadal to win a tour-level event on all three surfaces since 1990.
In September, Engel also made his Davis Cup debut for Germany and defeated Rei Sakamoto of Japan, 6-3, 6-7 (2), 10-7.
