Follow us on Google Discover Valentin Vacherot made history in Shanghai, coming through qualifying to win the tournament.
Ranked number 204 in the world, few expected Vacherot to make the main draw in Shanghai, never mind win the event.
Advancing through to the main draw, Vacherot defeated the likes of Alexander Bublik, Holger Rune, and Novak Djokovic en route to his maiden Masters 1000 title.
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But he very nearly decided against competing at the event…
The Monegasque star has now shared why his coach was eager for him to skip the Shanghai Masters.
Valentin Vacherot’s coach wanted him to play Challenger Tour events in the US instead of Shanghai
Appearing as a guest on ‘The Changeover Podcast’, Vacherot looked back upon the weeks leading up to the Shanghai Masters.
“For Shanghai, a lot of guys pull out; they don’t want to go all the way to Shanghai. They don’t really want to go to Shanghai and play two or three more Challengers there because of the humid conditions,” he said.
“But me, I was thinking that if I wanted to get into one big tournament before the end of the year, it was going to be Shanghai.
“I was 204th in the world, thinking there was a chance to get in. The qualifier list came out, and I was 22 away. I checked the list; I would have been four spots out last year. I was thinking I wasn’t going to get in.
“I’m like whatever, I plan to play four or five more Challengers in Asia after that, worst case, I’m training for a week in Shanghai on the Masters 1000 site. I land there, still nine out, but I got in 24 hours before.”
Vacherot’s coach, Benjamin Balleret, was encouraging him to skip Shanghai, but he didn’t want to miss out on a chance to play a ‘big’ tournament.
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“In my head for the last month, I was thinking Shanghai, Shanghai, Shanghai, and my coach said, ‘Are you sure you want to go to Shanghai?” he said.
“‘There are a few Challengers in the US, then we can fly to China to play the Challengers.’
“There’s the Tiburon Challenger, which is so nice, I played it once, we were thinking about going to play it, and fly to China after.
“But, I felt like it could be a good shot if I got in.”
The rest, as they say, is history, with Vacherot’s decision proving to be one of the best of his life, winning his first ATP title in style.
What’s next for Valentin Vacherot?
Following his title win in Shanghai, Vacherot received a wild card into the Swiss Indoors ATP 500 event in Basel.
Handed a difficult draw, Vacherot took on the number-one seed, Taylor Fritz, in his opening match.
Carrying his Shanghai momentum forward to Basel, Vacherot took the first set, 6-4, and pushed Fritz all the way to a tiebreaker in the second.
He couldn’t quite get the job done, however, as Fritz fought back to beat Vacherot 4-6, 7-6, 7-5.
Vacherot will have another chance to impress at the upcoming Paris Masters, having been given a wild card to the event.
He will play Czechia’s Jiri Lehecka in round one, a player with plenty of experience at the highest level.
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The 14th seed is a two-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist and has played three ATP finals this year.
FinalOpponentResultScoreBrisbane InternationalReilly OpelkaWIN4-1 (RET)Queen’s Club ChampionshipsCarlos AlcarazLOSS5-7, 7-6, 2-6European OpenFelix Auger-AliassimeLOSS6-7, 7-6, 2-6Jiri Lehecka’s 2025 record in ATP finals
Should he advance past Lehecka, he could meet his cousin Arthur Rinderknech in a Shanghai final rematch in the second round.
Vacherot has also entered into the qualifying draw for the new Hellenic Championship event, which will take place in Athens, Greece.
Depending on how things go in Paris, Vacherot may well decide to withdraw from the tournament and instead choose to rest up ahead of 2026.
Only time will tell what the future holds for Vacherot, but he will certainly be one to keep an eye out for in the new year.
Vacherot will play Lehecka in the first round of the Paris Masters shortly after the tournament begins on Monday, October 27.