Tennis Tour Spotlight: Shocks & Surprises This Week

What happened this past week on the ATP and WTA Tours in Shanghai and Wuhan? Did our home-state Floridians win big? While we can't keep you updated on all the action, here's a roundup to get you started. 

Vacherot Defeats Cousin Rinderknech in Impossible-Seeming Shanghai Final

With players such as Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Taylor Fritz, and Alexander Zverev headlining the entry list into the annual Masters 1000 event in Shanghai, China, no one thought that once the draw was rounded out to two on Sunday, the final duo would be unseeded players, let alone cousins! But together, Valentin Vacherot and Arthur Rinderknech defied a stacked draw to create an absurd headline. While we didn't get a Sinner-Alcaraz epic, the tennis on display and the backstory accompanying it was just as enticing. So, how on earth did this happen?

Photo credit: ATP Tour.

Frenchman Rinderknech has tasted the spotlight before---this past summer at Wimbledon he knocked out Zverev in a 5-set thriller which was one of the stories of the tournament. Despite the fantastic result, he didn't make it past the third round and has struggled since. Vacherot, on the other hand, came into the tournament fresh off a low-tier Challenger event first-round loss, so it's safe to say that neither man was predicted to win more than a couple of matches in the Magic City. But Rinderknech was able to take it a few steps further than Wimbledon, knocking out rival Zverev once again as well as 28th seed Alex Michelsen, 15th seed Jiri Lehecka, 12th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, and 16th seed Daniil Medvedev before bowing out to his cousin. En route to the final, Vacherot also encountered a full roster of seeded players----14th seed Alexander Bublik, 20th seed Tomas Mahac, 27th seed Tallon Griekspoor, 10th seed Holger Rune, and 4th seed Novak Djokovic to make the championship match.

The final itself was quite spectacular; the two pushed each other into a three-set affair with Vacherot coming back from a set down to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. With 20-time grand slam victor Roger Federer watching on, Vacherot did what he's been doing all week so well: staying exceptionally aggressive from the baseline, taking risks often and playing with small margins of error. To counter Rinderknech, who incorporates a variety of unusual tactics, Vacherot stayed on his toes and tracked down every drop shot that was thrown his way. While the Frenchman played a very solid match, Vacherot was able to raise his level in the most important moments mostly in the final two sets where he broke his cousin at two crucial times. This incredible victory is one that will easily define the 2025 season and will be remembered for a long time coming, but for now it's important that we keep a close eye on these two guys as they're sure to do even more spectacular things in the coming months. 

Photo credit: © Rolex/Jed Jacobsohn.

Gauff Defeats Pegula in All-American Wuhan Final

Things haven't gone so smooth for Delray Beach native Coco Gauff since her spectacular French Open victory this past spring, but after a bit of a disappointing summer it seems she's strengthening her game and has improved her results during the fall swing in Asia. Just over a week ago, she completed a semi-final run in Beijing but wasn't able to seal the deal. Things were different, however, over the past few days in Wuhan where she demolished almost all of her five opponents before the competition got stiffer near the end of the draw. 

Gauff's first major test came in the semifinals, where she routed Jasime Paolini, the 7th seed. Paolini is no stranger to the Floridian, and the two recently played in Cincinnati where the Italian got the better of her. Despite rather similar environments---hard court, warm climate---Gauff took the valuable lessons she learned in her three-set, heartbreaking defeat to Paolini over the summer and made good use of them. She didn't even let the 29-year-old win a set off of her, and confidently stormed into the final with a 6-4, 6-3 victory. Despite the comfortable performance, she had another test awaiting her on Sunday: 6th seed and fellow American Jessica Pegula. While the storyline wasn't as exciting as the cousin matchup in Shanghai, Gauff and Pegula are former doubles partners and good friends, and there is always a level of tension when they play. Despite Gauff being seeded #3 and Pegula at #6 in the bracket, Pegula maintained a 4-2 head-to-head lead going into the battle. This one could have swung either way, so that added a layer of enthusiasm for spectators who came to witness an intense battle. 

While the match wasn't truly a battle, it was intense: Gauff came away with a 6-4, 7-5 win. Despite the fact that Pegula didn't snag a set off her, the score proves that this one was close and Gauff was pushed. As of late, the 21-year-old's serve has been in the spotlight as she was seen making a gutsy technical shift before and during the US Open. This was a bit of a struggle as she double-faulted a high number of eight, but also made a solid 74% of her first serves in. Her second serve was also much more impactful; she won 64% of points on her second serve compared to Pegula's mere 34%. This impressive victory is an important one for Gauff. While she didn't perform as well as she would have hoped in the back half of the slam season, winning a WTA 1000 isn't an easy affair and doing so in the fall coupled with a Roland Garros title in the spring demonstrates a certain level of dominance throughout the year which is important for a top player to hold. 

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By William Turvey. Top photo credit: ©Rolex/Antoine Couvercelle.