Next Gen ATP Finals shows off singles only court design

The Next Gen ATP Finals, set to take place in Milan this week, has been showing off its innovations like shot clocks, headset coaching and robotic line judges. But one element of the tournament will be a blast from the past: a court without doubles alleys,reminiscent of the one from the old ATP Tour World Championships.

Such courts have been a rarity since Shanghai in 2002, the last time the year-end championships didn't hold singles and doubles events at the same location.

Although the design technically doesn't change anything about how the game is played, it can look strange to those who aren't used to it. Though it's not as strange as the model-run draw ceremony, which received plenty of critique and ended with an apology from the ATP.

The blue color scheme, though, will look familiar to anyone who has watched the ATP Finals at the O2 Arena in London.

Other quirks of the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals tournament include:

Play begins on Tuesday featuring Andrey Rublev, Denis Shapovalov, Hyeon Chung and Gianluigi Quinzi in Group A and Karen Khachanov, Borna Coric, Jared Donaldson and Daniil Medvedev in Group B.