Valentin Vacherot’s extraordinary run in Shanghai finished in style with a comeback win over his cousin Arthur Rinderknech. The 26-year-old from Monaco arrived in China with just one ATP Tour win in his entire career, but went on to beat the likes of Holger Rune and Novak Djokovic before downing the Frenchman. “I am not even dreaming, it is just crazy,” said a stunned Vacherot.
Valentin Vacherot completed a fairytale run at the Shanghai Masters on Sunday with a comeback win over his cousin Arthur Rinderknech – but where did the qualifier’s stunning success come from?
The 26-year-old’s jaw-dropping triumph made him the lowest-ranked player at No. 204 and the first Monegasque to win a Masters 1000 event.
It was no fluke run either, as Vacherot knocked out five seeded players to reach the final, beating Alexander Bublik, Tomas Machac, Tallon Griekspoor and Holger Rune before the mother of all upsets when he downed 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals.
The triumph was sealed in suitably spectacular style, as the qualifier – who will now climb all the way up to No. 40 – came from a set down to win 4-6 6-3 6-3 and claim his maiden title after coming into the tournament with just one career ATP Tour win under his belt.
The astonishing achievement, sealed by an incredible battle between two cousins and former college team-mates, left both players in tears as they received their trophies on court.
“It is unreal what just happened. I have no idea what is happening right now. I am not even dreaming, it is just crazy,” Vacherot said.
“I am just so happy with my performances the past two weeks. I just want to thank everyone who has helped with my career since the beginning.
“There has to be one loser, but I think there are two winners today. One family that won, and I think for the sport of tennis, the story is unreal.”
Where did ‘impossible’ Vacherot run come from?
Vacherot’s disbelief at what he had achieved in China was for good reason.
Before the event, he had failed to leave a mark on the upper echelons of the sport, with no titles to his name and just one main draw ATP tour win to speak of – against Jan-Lennard Struff on his home turf of Monte Carlo in April.
Tennis is in the family, though. Vacherot’s coach is his half-brother, former professional tennis player Benjamin Balleret, and Benjamin’s father, Bernard, coached the man from Monaco between the ages of nine and 15.
He then went on to play college tennis in the United States for Texas A&M University, where he was trained by two-time Australian Open finalist Steve Denton, following the encouragement of his cousin and fellow student Rinderknech, three years his senior.
They played together for two seasons in Texas, reaching the 2018 NCAA Championships semi-finals together.
His experience as a pro has been a slow burn, though. Vacherot claimed his first ranking point at the age of 16, but it took him until 2023 in Monte Carlo to make his ATP Tour debut as a wildcard.
Things have been on an upward trajectory recently, though, with Vacherot achieving a then career-high ranking of No. 116 in May 2024 after a 15-0 Challenger circuit run, before qualifying for the main draw at Roland-Garros that year.
His first ATP Tour win came against Struff in Monte Carlo in April 2025, but few saw his Shanghai run coming, as the clay-court specialist headed to China on the back of a first-round exit at the Saint-Tropez Challenger.
“I would say it’s a fairytale,” Balleret said after the semi-final win over Djokovic.
“He makes history for him, for Monaco. He’s the first player from Monaco in the Top 100 already, of course, being in the semi-finals, in the final.
“Actually, I have no words. I don’t know what to say about it… It’s not even unexpected. It’s kind of impossible. And he’s doing it. Val is just unbelievable this week.”
‘The family WhatsApp group is buzzing’
Vacherot’s story was spectacular enough as it was after he brought down some of the biggest names in the sport to reach the Shanghai showpiece.
But the fact that he was paired with Rinderknech, himself featuring in a Masters 1000 final for the very first time, brought an air of magic to the occasion.
The 30-year-old Frenchman, ranked No. 54 in the world, was also bidding for his first career title after failing to previously make it beyond the third round at a Masters 1000 event.
“Our family WhatsApp group is buzzing a lot the past few days,” Rinderknech said after his quarter-final victory.
When he went a step further by setting up a final clash together, he said: “Even in the biggest dream we couldn’t have dreamed about this, so it’s a dream that couldn’t even exist at the beginning.”