Shanghai Masters 2025: The fairy tale named Vacherot

On his journey to the final in Shanghai, Vacherot defeated many top-ranked players.

After missing most of the latter half of last season due to a right shoulder injury, Vacherot spent the 2025 season playing Challenger tournaments, except for the event in his home Monaco, where he received a wildcard. With a ranking insufficient to secure a qualifying spot at the Shanghai Masters, Vacherot took a gamble by traveling to China. This decision paid off as some players withdrew before the deadline, allowing him to enter the qualifiers as an alternate.

Since then, the 26-year-old talent has won consecutively against seeded players such as Alexander Bublik, Tomas Machac, Tallon Griekspoor, and Rune, becoming the second-lowest-ranked player ever to reach a Masters ATP semi-final.

The most notable victory was when he defeated Serbian legend Djokovic in the semi-finals (Djokovic is also a four-time Shanghai Masters champion).

Thanks to this win, Vacherot climbed 146 places to reach 58th in the ATP rankings. This position will improve further if he wins the Shanghai title. The $598,000 prize money earned this week exceeds his total career earnings to date.

Vacherot is the sixth player in the 21st century to reach his first ATP Tour final at a Masters 1000 event and the first to do so since Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at Monte Carlo in 2022.

In the final, Vacherot will face his cousin Arthur Rinderknech. A thrilling ATP Masters 1000 final with a strong family connection will take place in Shanghai.

This was a scenario few dared to imagine before the tournament began. At that time, Rinderknech was ranked 54th globally, while Vacherot had to start as a qualifying alternate due to being outside the Top 200 (ranked 204). These two players made history by becoming the first cousins ever to reach the semi-finals of the 2025 Shanghai Masters.

By reaching the final at the Shanghai Masters, Rinderknech has risen to 28th in the updated ATP rankings and will climb to 22nd if he lifts the trophy.

It is certain that Rinderknech and Vacherot will never forget their battle for the title at the 2025 Shanghai Masters. The cousins played tennis together at Texas A&M University, and now they will face each other competing for one of the sport’s most prestigious trophies. Their story will continue to be told as a real-life fairy tale in the tennis world.