The ATP Tour features three 250-level events during the week of October 13-19, with primary attention focused on Brussels where ATP Finals contenders battle for crucial qualifying points. However, Stockholm and Almaty deliver surprisingly strong fields despite their lower tournament grade, with all seeded players ranked inside the world's top 50. The Swedish tournament headlines Holger Rune and Casper Ruud, both clinging to marginal ATP Finals hopes, while Almaty showcases Daniil Medvedev's quest for his first title of 2025 season alongside Karen Khachanov who looks for a bounce back after the series of surprising defeats in recent weeks.
Rune and Ruud lead Stockholm field
The Stockholm tournament features two players maintaining slim mathematical chances for ATP Finals qualification in Turin. Top seed Holger Rune and second seed Casper Ruud are separated by just five points in the ATP Race while trailing Lorenzo Musetti by 945 points for the final qualifying spot. Though their chances appear remote, both will fight to accumulate points and apply pressure on those ahead.
Both players have experienced mixed fortunes throughout 2025. Rune's season peaked during an exceptional spring highlighted by reaching the Indian Wells final and capturing the Barcelona title on clay, where the Dane defeated Carlos Alcaraz on the Spaniard's home soil during Alcaraz's dominant 2025 campaign. The subsequent months proved less bright as Rune struggled for consistency, though his Asian hard court swing delivered respectable back-to-back quarterfinal appearances in Tokyo and Shanghai. The 22-year-old now seeks momentum in Stockholm to build toward a strong finish.
Ruud also excelled on Spanish clay, winning the Madrid ATP Masters title in May. However, the Norwegian has failed to replicate that breakthrough performance. He skipped the grass season entirely and returned to competition with miserable results during the American hard court swing. The Tokyo ATP 500 offered a glimpse of revival as Ruud served exceptionally well throughout the tournament and played a tight, competitive three-setter against Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals. Unfortunately, he failed to maintain that trajectory in Shanghai, losing his opening match to Zizou Bergs via third-set retirement.
Rune opens his Stockholm campaign against either ATP 250 Winston-Salem champion Marton Fucsovics or Jesper De Jong. His potential path to the final appears formidable with fourth seed Ugo Humbert (12-9 on hard courts in 2025) and sixth seed Alexandre Muller (10-11 in ATP main tour hard court matches) populating his half. Former top-10 star Matteo Berrettini represents another intriguing name in the top half as the Italian seeks revival after a season plagued by persistent injury issues.
Casper Ruud faces a considerably more challenging draw despite his second-seeding position. The Norwegian begins against either compatriot Nicolai Budkov Kjaer or former Grand Slam champion Marin Cilic.
Seventh seed Alexei Popyrin could provide an intriguing quarterfinal clash, though the 2024 Canadian Open champion has struggled to just 7-11 on hard courts this year in ATP main draws. Denis Shapovalov emerges as Ruud's most dangerous potential opponent in the bottom half, with a possible semifinal meeting looming. The world number 24 Canadian sits as third seed with a solid 19-11 hard court record in 2025. His most recent success came with the Los Cabos title in July, though he has won just three of eight matches since that triumph.
Medvedev seeks first 2025 title in Almaty
Daniil Medvedev's 2025 season has been defined by disappointing defeats and mounting frustration, reaching a crescendo during his first-round US Open exit to Benjamin Bonzi. The former world number one plummeted to 18th in the rankings, his lowest position since early 2019. However, the Russian has regrouped impressively during the Asian swing, reaching consecutive semifinals in Beijing and Shanghai. Medvedev displayed flashes of his championship class by defeating top-10 opponents Alexander Zverev and Alex de Minaur. The 2021 US Open champion remains without a title this season and views Almaty as a prime opportunity to end that drought as top second seed alongside Karen Khachanov.
Khachanov arrives attempting to halt a three-match losing streak that began at the US Open and continued with defeats in Beijing and Shanghai. All three losses occurred when the Russian entered as pre-match favorite, raising questions about his mental fragility in pressure situations. The world number 10 will again be favored in his opener against either Mackenzie Mcdonald or Jan Lennard Struff. Other seeds in Khachanov's top half include sixth seed Corentin Moutet, the recent Hangzhou ATP 250 semifinalist, fourth seed Luciano Darderi who has struggled to translate his clay court excellence (30-11) to hard courts (6-11), and eighth seed Alex Michelsen, the surprise Canadian Open quarterfinalist currently enduring a four-match losing streak.
The bottom half appears significantly more competitive than Khachanov's section. Fifth seed Brandon Nakashima resides in Medvedev's quarter and opens with a compelling first-round clash against Hamad Medjedovic. Nakashima reached the Chengdu semifinals and Tokyo quarterfinals in September, establishing solid recent form. Medjedovic averages 9.9 aces per match on ATP hard courts this year and distinguishes himself with exceptional match efficiency ratios, making him a dangerous floater in any draw.
Medvedev could face an intriguing revenge opportunity against Adam Walton, who produced a stunning upset over the Russian in Cincinnati two months ago. The potential rematch would materialize if the Australian defeats compatriot Tristan Schoolkate in the first round. The third quarter features third seed Flavio Cobolli, another Italian clay court specialist struggling on hard courts with an 8-14 record, and seventh seed Gabriel Diallo, a formidable server averaging 8.3 aces who has climbed the rankings in recent months with an 18-16 hard court record in 2025.
