Some of the biggest names in tennis are heading to London this week for one of the sport’s most unique tournaments. The Ultimate Tennis Showdown runs from December 5th to 7th, and this year’s lineup is pretty impressive.
Think traditional tennis is a bit slow? You’re not alone.
Patrick Mouratoglou – the guy who coached Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka – felt the same way. So back in 2020, he co-founded this wild exhibition that throws out the old scoring system completely.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adrian Mannarino | 37 | 1,865 | 7 - 13 |
Instead of regular sets, UTS uses timed matches with a shot clock. It’s fast, it’s different, and it definitely gets your heart racing. Tennis purists hate it, but fans who want something fresh absolutely love it.
This Year’s Champions Are All Coming Back
Tomas Machac, Casper Ruud, and Francisco Cerundolo all won UTS titles earlier this year in different cities around the world.
They’re all signed up for London.
The tournament has become a real hit since it started. We’re talking about the sixteenth edition now, with stops in places like Guadalajara, Nimes, and Hong Kong throughout 2025.
London’s becoming a regular host too. Jack Draper won on home soil in 2023, then Alex de Minaur took the title last year.
Both of them beat the same guy in their finals – Holger Rune. Unfortunately, Rune’s dealing with a serious Achilles injury right now and won’t be playing.
Defending Champion Returns, But Hometown Hero Pulls Out
De Minaur’s back to defend his London title. The Australian had a really solid 2025 season, making it all the way to the ATP Finals semifinals.
He’s also got experience with this format – he actually won a UTS title back in 2020 in Antwerp.
Draper was supposed to return too, but injuries have been absolutely brutal for him this year.
The 22-year-old Brit had to end his season early because of an arm problem. It cost him a spot at the ATP Finals, which would’ve been huge for his career. Now the same injury issues have forced him to pull out of UTS London as well.
Talk about frustrating timing.
Battle of the Former Champions
Here’s what makes this tournament special – six former UTS champions are entered in London. That’s basically a who’s who of players who’ve mastered this crazy fast format.
Ruud beat Machac in a thriller earlier this year in Nimes. That stopped the Czech player from winning back-to-back titles after his victory in Guadalajara.
Andrey Rublev won in Oslo last year, actually beating de Minaur in that final. Francisco Cerundolo claimed his title in Hong Kong. David Goffin made the final in Guadalajara before losing to Machac.
That’s seven finalists total competing in London.
Rublev’s had a tough 2025 season by his standards. His Qatar Open title was basically the only bright spot. He dropped outside the top 10 and missed the ATP Finals for the first time since 2019.
That’s a five-year streak broken.
The Wildcard to Watch
Adrian Mannarino is the only player in the field who’s never won a UTS title or even made a final.
At 37, the Frenchman isn’t exactly in his prime anymore. But his style is so awkward and unpredictable that he could definitely cause some problems for the bigger names.
Sometimes experience and craftiness can beat pure power in this format. It’ll be interesting to see if Mannarino can pull off a surprise or two and maybe finally get his first UTS breakthrough.
The action starts Thursday, and with this many proven champions in the field, it should be quite a show.
