The ATP Next Gen Finals semifinalists have been decided, with Nadal watching the young Spaniards' "Spanish Derby."

On December 19 local time, the last round of group stage matches at the 2025 ATP Next Gen Finals took place, with the semifinalists confirmed one after another. The top seed Lerna Chen will compete against fellow countryman Basavaredi for a place in the final, and the other semifinal will feature second seed Brox versus fifth seed Budkov Sher.

Lerna Chen

Photo: Visual China

Lerna Chen defeated Budkov Sher 3-4(2)/4-1/4-2/4-2 in the final round, finishing with a 2-1 record to top the Blue Group. As the tournament’s top seed and favorite to win, Chen, despite losing his opening match after missing four match points against Hodar, improved his form in the next two matches by beating Landarus and Budkov Sher, advancing to the semifinals of this event for the second consecutive year.

Budkov Sher

Photo: Visual China

Budkov Sher, also finishing with a 2-1 record in the Blue Group, advanced to the semifinals as well. He won his first two group matches against Landarus and Hodar. The 19-year-old became the first Norwegian player in the tournament’s history to reach the semifinals. Former world No. 2 and three-time Grand Slam finalist Ruud often trains with Budkov Sher and is affectionately regarded by him as a "big brother" figure.

Brox

Photo: Visual China

In the Red Group, second seed Brox defeated third seed Prizmic 4-3(4)/2-4/4-2/4-0 to secure his third consecutive win and top the group. He will face the Blue Group’s runner-up Budkov Sher in the semifinals. Both players are former junior Grand Slam champions: Brox won the 2023 Australian Open boys’ singles title, while Budkov Sher claimed the 2024 Wimbledon boys’ singles championship.

Basavaredi

Photo: Visual China

Sixth seed Basavaredi beat eighth seed Engel 4-3(3)/4-2/4-3(5) to finish second in the Red Group. He will meet Blue Group leader Lerna Chen in the semifinals. Both players are the only two returning competitors from last year’s event, each supported by renowned coaches. Basavaredi recently announced a partnership with Cebara, who previously coached former world No. 1 Medvedev; meanwhile, Zhang Depei officially joined Lerna Chen’s team this August. Their first professional match against each other took place in the first round of this year’s Wimbledon, where Chen won in straight sets.

As an ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation, 22-time Grand Slam champion Nadal returned to Jeddah. He announced a hand surgery over a week ago and appeared at the event with his right hand and wrist still in plaster. Nadal took photos with local fans and later watched a match between fellow young Spaniards Landarus and Hodar. Landarus is currently training at Nadal’s tennis academy in Mallorca.