Schwaerzler up to fifth, while Cina & Sakamoto qualify for Rolex Shanghai Masters

The race for qualification to the 2026 Next Gen ATP Finals is heating up, with recent results adding further intrigue to the PIF ATP Live Race To Reggio Calabria.

Joel Schwaerzler moved up two places to fifth in the Live Race after reaching the semi-finals of the ATP Challenger event in Mouilleron le Captif last week, strengthening his bid to qualify for the 20-and-under event, which will be held in Italy from 9-13 December.

The 20-year-old Austrian faces competition this week from fourth-placed Federico Cina and seventh-placed Rei Sakamoto, who both won two rounds of qualifying at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai to reach the main draw.

Cina, 19, is 31 points ahead of Schwaerzler and 32 points clear of sixth-placed Darwin Blanch in the Live Race. Blanch won his first ATP Challenger title in Tiburon two weeks ago and remains firmly in contention for a place at the Next Gen ATP Finals.

PIF ATP Live Race To Reggio Calabria as of 5 October (View Full Standings here)
 Player  Points
 1) Rafael Jodar  2,509
 2) Joao Fonseca  1,200
 3) Martin Landaluce  748
 4) Federico Cina  358
 5) Joel Schwaerzler  327
 6) Darwin Blanch  326
 7) Rei Sakamoto  321
 8) Diego Dedura  292
 9) Moise Kouame  287
 10) Jan Kumstat  283

Sakamoto booked his place in the Shanghai main draw with a 10/8 victory over in-form Kyrian Jacquet in a third-set Match Tie-break. The 20-year-old Japanese, who has previously named recently retired Kei Nishikori as his idol, will now look to build on that result and close the gap on the players ahead of him in the PIF ATP Live Race To Reggio Calabria.

Schwaerzler is competing this week at the ATP Challenger event in Villena, where he will open against another Next Gen ATP Finals hopeful, Felix Balshaw. The 20-year-old Frenchman claimed his first Challenger title at the Rafa Nadal Academy last month and has moved up one place to 11th in the Live Race after reaching the quarter-finals in Mouilleron le Captif.