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Race to British No.1, Davis Cup glory and more - what’s still at stake this tennis season?
We may only be two months from the end of 2026 but the tennis season isn’t slowing down any time soon.
There are plenty of tournaments, ranking points and accolades still up for grabs across the WTA and ATP Tour before the players turn their attention to the off-season.
As we head into the tail end of the season, we break down what’s still at stake in world tennis for the rest of the season.
The race for British No.1
On the men’s side, the race to finish the season as British No.1 looks set to go right down to the wire.
Arthur Fery is currently the top-ranked British player on the ATP Tour , following a breakthrough year that saw him reach the semi-final at Wimbledon and seal a runner-up finish at the Winston-Salem Open.
Fery has under 100 points to defend between now and the end of the season, and with a ranking inside the top 40, is able to compete in the Tour-level events including the final Masters 1000 events in Shanghai and Paris.
This could hand him an advantage over Cam Norrie, who is currently ranked just four places behind his compatriot in the rankings. The current British No.2 has 365 points to defend between now and December, including runner-up points in Metz.
There are currently 163 points separating Fery and Norrie in the rankings, with the British No.1 title still to play for.
There’s a similar battle going on in the women’s doubles game with current holder Olivia Nicholls being just over 100 points ahead of Maia Lumsden.
Lumsden has lifted three titles already this year and is currently sat at a career-high ranking of No.34, while HSBC Championships doubles winner Nicholls is ranked 29 in the world.
While the women's singles British No.1 race appears to have been secured by Katie Boulter, there are still valuable ranking points on offer before the end of the season, with several British women looking to strengthen their positions heading into the new year.
Can Great Britain end the year with Davis Cup success?
This year the Lexus Great Britain team compete at the Davis Cup Finals, aiming to lift the title for the first time in 11 years. They’ll be joined by three-time defending champions Italy, Korea Republic, Czechia, Canada, Germany, Spain and Austria with the eight nations going head-to-head in Bologna to be crowned world champions.
The Brits face a testing quarter-final tie against Germany on Thursday 26 November and will be hoping to lean on an experienced and in-form team to help guide them on a potential title run.
The Brits secured their place in the Final 8 thanks to victories over Norway and Ecuador in the Qualifiers and didn’t lose a single match across any of the eight they contested.
With the likes of Wimbledon semi-finalist Fery, Norrie, Henry Patten, Neal Skupski, Jacob Fearnley, Julian Cash, Lloyd Glasspool, Toby Samuel and Harry Wendelken all playing their part in securing Great Britain’s place in the Final 8 this year, Team Captain Leon Smith has a plethora of options to choose from when picking a team he believes can capture the silverware.
The Davis Cup Final 8 will take place between 24-29 November, with tickets now on sale.
Who will claim the year-end championships?
Headlining the latter stages of the season is the arrival of the WTA Finals and Nitto ATP Finals. Both tournaments are also referred to as the year-end championships and welcome the top eight singles and eight doubles teams to one place to battle it out to lift the last major title of the season.
This year’s WTA Finals will take place in the Californian desert at Indian Wells for the first time. Reigning champion and world No.1 Elena Rybakina will look to round off an unforgettable year that has seen her capture two Grand Slam titles and reach the summit of the WTA ranking for the first time.
Meanwhile, the ATP Finals will be without its defending champion Jannik Sinner who has had to bring his season to an early end to nurse a knee injury. However, Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton are all in the mix to be Tour Finals champion.
For British fans, the main storyline will be who will come out on top in the men’s doubles event. It’s been another year of doubles dominance for the Brits, with Patten and Skupski winning three Grand Slam titles between them and already booking their tickets to Turin.
Patten is the defending champion and will look to seal back-to-back titles, while Skupski and American partner Christian Harrison will look to round off their impressive season by being crowned year-end winners for the first time.
On the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour, Alfie Hewett will look to reclaim the NEC Wheelchair Singles Masters title for the first time since 2023. The world No.2 lost out on the silverware last year to Tokito Oda.
He’ll also link up with fellow Brit Gordon Reid for the UNIQLO Doubles Masters with the pair also going in pursuit of their first doubles crown in three years. Hewett and Reid have claimed three of the four Grand Slam titles this year and will look to round off their year by winning the year-end championships.
Rankings, milestones and breakthrough moments still to come
With trophies and titles still up for grabs across the WTA, ATP, Challenger, ITF and Wheelchair tennis Tours, the final weeks of the season will be extremely important for players looking to build momentum ahead of 2027.
Strong results between now and the end of the season can have a significant impact on whether players will need to go through qualifying at the Australian Open, receive direct entry to the main draw and will provide them with confidence heading into the fresh season.
For British stars such as Samuel, Katie Swan, Alicia Dudeney and Wendelken - the closing stages of the year present an opportunity to push even further up the rankings and add to their impressive trophy hauls.
Those players, amongst others, will be bidding to end the campaign with career-high rankings to help strengthen their opportunity to compete at the biggest events next season.