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Nitto ATP Finals Achieve Record-Breaking Attendance

November 22, 2017

LONDON (Nov. 22, 2017) – The 2017 Nitto ATP Finals brought a spectacular close to a memorable 2017 season that saw more fans come out and watch the world’s best tennis players on the ATP World Tour than ever before. More than 4.5 million fans attended ATP World Tour events in 2017, an all-time record.

The season finale in London attracted a total attendance of 253,642, including six sold-out sessions, making it the ninth successive year that the tournament has broken the 250,000 attendance mark. Cumulative attendance since the tournament moved to London in 2009 stands at more than 2.3 million fans.

This year’s tournament saw a host of three set-matches across the eight days of competition in a tournament that pitted established stars such as Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer against some must-see newcomers at the season finale. The event culminated with Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov’s dramatic 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 win over Belgium’s David Goffin in the final.

The 31-game final equaled the second most games played in a three-set final in the history of the tournament, with only John McEnroe’s win over Arthur Ashe in 1978 longer (34 games). Dimitrov became the first champion to win the title undefeated on his tournament debut since McEnroe in 1978. The Bulgarian collected a total of $2,549,000 in prize money and 1500 Emirates ATP Rankings points to finish the season at a career high No. 3 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, behind Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

Eleven out of the 15 singles matches at this year’s season-ending tournament went to three sets, the second most in the 48-year history of the tournament (12 in 1971).

In doubles, Henri Kontinen and John Peers defeated World No. 1 doubles team Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo in the final to become the first team to successfully defend the season finale title since Bob and Mike Bryan in 2004 (Houston).

Chris Kermode, ATP Executive Chairman & President, said: “This year’s tournament will go down as one of the most fiercely contested, with so many matches going the distance. The event saw some breakthrough performances from the likes of Jack Sock, David Goffin, and of course Grigor Dimitrov, in front of packed crowds at The O2, the world’s leading entertainment venue. Our thanks go to Nitto for their first year as valued title sponsor of our season finale. And on behalf of the ATP, we would also like to thank the fans that came out in such strong numbers to support our year-end event, and the Tour as a whole in 2017.”

The Nitto ATP Finals has a rich history dating back to the birth of the Masters in Tokyo in 1970. The tournament will be held at The O2 in London though 2020.