Novak Djokovic will continue his pursuit of qualifying for the ATP Finals at the Basel Open, having received a wildcard for the event.

The ATP 500 tournament, which will feature Stan Wawrinka’s last-ever professional tennis match, gets underway on Sunday, and the draw is packed. Ben Shelton, Arthur Fils, Taylor Fritz, Rafael Jodar, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Holger Rune will all be in action at the indoor hard-court competition.

Djokovic needs to catch Jodar in the race to Turin, where the ATP Finals are held, but the Serb’s chances have just decreased after the draw for the Basel Open was revealed.

Novak Djokovic’s difficult draw at the 2026 Basel Open

Djokovic will take on Ugo Humbert in his first-round match at the Basel Open and will likely face Jan-Lennard Struff in round two. It quickly gets difficult for Djokovic after that, however, as he is projected to play seventh seed Alexander Bublik in the quarterfinals.

Bublik lost to Djokovic in their sole meeting at the 2021 Davis Cup Finals, but the Kazakh star has captured three of his nine titles on indoor hard courts. Should he advance to the semifinals, it is likely that Djokovic will be pitted against the highest-seeded player in the draw: Shelton.

The last matchup between Djokovic and Shelton came at the 2023 US Open, where the former defeated the latter in straight sets to advance to the final of the hard-court major. The American has come on leaps and bounds since then, however, having just recently reached his first Grand Slam final at Flushing Meadows.

How would you feel if Novak Djokovic got a wildcard to the ATP Finals?

Is there any changes you'd make to the current qualification system?

If Djokovic makes the final of the Basel Open, his most likely opponent comes in the form of Fils, who is also looking to secure his place at the ATP Finals. The Frenchman is currently sixth in the race to Turin with only Flavio Cobolli and Daniil Medvedev ahead of him.

Djokovic is 10th in the race, and is competing with Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Jodar, Frances Tiafoe, Fils, Medvedev and Cobolli for qualification. The last time Djokovic failed to qualify for the ATP Finals came during the 2017 season, where he was sidelined with a wrist injury.

Other than that year, Djokovic has qualified for the year-end competition every season since 2007, though he did not appear in 2024 and 2025. The 39-year-old holds the record for the most ATP Finals titles in history with seven.