This question now seems irrelevant, for both the players and the fans.

Arthur RinderknechandValentin Vacherotare cousins who share a passion for tennis. From their youth, through their time as teammates at Texas A&M University, and over many years since, they have played tennis together “thousands of times.” Yet, they never imagined that on Sunday inShanghai, China,they would share such a moment on the court, etching their names and a legendary story into the memories of Chinese tennis fans.

Both defeated top-ranked players in the PIF ATP world rankings—

Vacherot stunned “King of Hardcourt” Djokovic, while Rinderknech came back to beat Medvedev, the only world number one born in the 1990s.

Next, they will compete for the ATP1000 Masters title in the Shanghai Masters final.

Rinderknech said:

“This is an unimaginable dream. It’s something I never even dared to think about before. Even in my wildest dreams, I never pictured this scenario, so this is a dream that originally seemed impossible.”

“I don’t even know how it all happened. I think maybe we did some good deeds for those around us to deserve this, because it’s truly incredible.”

Rinderknech’s Fairytale Story

Rinderknech and Vacherot have traveled similar yet distinct paths. The French player Rinderknech is over three years older than his cousin from Monaco, Vacherot. They spent two seasons together in college before starting their professional careers separately.

Rinderknech reached a career-high PIF ATP ranking of 42 in 2022 and made his first ATP Tour final at the ATP250 Adelaide that same year. Now 30, he has risen to 28th in the current PIF ATP rankings and has proven his consistent competitiveness against top players with his aggressive serving style.

At this year’s Wimbledon, he caused an upset by defeating Zverev in the first round. At the Shanghai Masters, he again defeated the world number three. Coming into Shanghai, he had already secured 20 tour-level wins this season.

Now, Rinderknech isthe ninthFrench player to reach an ATP1000 Masters final.

Vacherot’s Dream Journey

On the other hand,Vacherothad only one ATP Tour victory before this event—he defeated German player Struff in the first round of the Monte Carlo Masters this year.

In Shanghai, before his “fairytale tournament” truly began, he entered as the last qualifier and won his first-round match against American Basavareddy in a tough three-set battle.

In the second round, facing a Canadian opponent who had two match points, Vacherot fought hard to win.

After that, in the main draw, Vacherot surged forward, becoming the first player from Monaco to reach the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final of an ATP Tour singles event.

His coach and half-brother,Benjamin Balleret,who achieved a career-high ranking of world204,and Vacherot, ranked world204,made their mark in Shanghai, a coincidence that seems fateful. Thanks to this dream run, “Val” (Vacherot’s nickname) has risen to 58th in the current PIF ATP rankings and could climb to 40th if he wins the title.

(Will the next player ranked 204 continue the dream?)

“This is an achievement. I would say it’s like a fairytale,” Balleret said. “He has made history for himself and for Monaco. He is the first Monegasque player to enter the world top 100, and reaching the semifinals and finals is also historic.”

“Honestly, I’m speechless... It’s not just surprising, it’s almost impossible. But he did it. Val’s performance this week has been incredible.”

On Saturday, after Vacherot’s shocking victory over four-time Shanghai Masters champion Djokovic, he returned to the locker room and saw countless messages from friends and family back home in Monaco on his phone.

Vacherot said, “I almost couldn’t hold back my tears.”

In Shanghai, he also defeated 14th seed Bublik, 20th seed Tomljanovic, 27th seed Taro Daniel, and 10th seed Rune.

A Family Celebration

Monaco’s Vacherot has changed his life with this single tournament and is poised on Sunday to become the lowest-ranked champion since the ATP1000 Masters series began in 1990.

After reading the messages, he still had media interviews and recovery training to do, but most importantly, Vacherot kept an eye on his cousin’s match against Medvedev. When Rinderknech defeated the former world number one to even their Lexus ATP head-to-head at 1-1, Vacherot shyly returned to the court encouraged by his coach and embraced Rinderknech—a memorable moment.

“I wanted to give him some encouragement. I was recovering and didn’t want to suddenly appear because if he saw me, he would know things had changed. So I hid,” Vacherot said. “But my heart was racing even faster than when I was playing. It was crazy.”

No one expected the Shanghai Masters final to be Rinderknech versus Vacherot, but many had speculated or joked about it.

The only previous professional meeting between the two brothers was at the 2018 ITF World Tennis Tour in France, where Rinderknech won in straight sets.

Sunday’s scene will be completely different. On one of tennis’s grandest stages, the two cousins will battle for ATP1000 Masters glory.

Rinderknech said:

“No matter what, there will be two winners tomorrow. Of course, there will be a result, but today, we have already won everything; there is nothing more to gain.”

That couldn’t be more true.

These two support each other, showing the best of family bonds and the most beautiful story in tennis. They have left this tale in China, in Shanghai. This city has witnessed their legend and will surely keep it in its heart forever.

[Look at me][Look at me][Rose][Rose]

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