Will Valentin Vacherot and Arthur Rinderknech play at Paris Masters following Shanghai heroics?
Cousins Valentin Vacherot and Arthur Rinderknech produced fairytale runs at the Shanghai Masters, but as things stand they won’t be in the main draw at the next big event, the Paris Masters.
Vacherot and Rinderknech were ranked outsiders at the start of the penultimate Masters 1000 event of the 2025 season as the former was at No 204 and was a late-minute entrant in the qualifiers, while Rinderknech was at No 54 in the ATP Rankings.
Vacherot won eight consecutive matches – including big upsets over 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic and 10th seed Holger Rune – to reach the final and he was joined in the showpiece match by his French cousin, who beat Daniil Medvedev in the semi-final.
The man from Monaco came out on top in the clash of the relatives as he won in three sets and both surged up the rankings after the match with Vacherot now sitting at No 40 while Rinderknech jumped 26 places to No 28.
Why Vacherot And Rinderknech Missed Out
But their rankings boosts did not come in time for direct entries into the Paris Masters, which is a 56-player singles draw tournament, while the Shanghai event featured 96 players in the main draw.
The cut-off date for the Paris tournament was September 27 and only the top 44 players in the ATP Rankings earned direct entries into the main draw.
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Although Rinderknech missed the cut with his ranking of 54, he earned a spot in the qualifiers and all is not lost in terms of gaining a direct entry as he is currently at No 9 on the alternates list.
With a ranking of 204, Vacherot not only missed out on an entry into the main draw, but also the qualifying event.
All Is Not Lost For The Cousins
But the cousins could still find themselves playing at the Paris Masters as the wildcards for both the main draw and the qualifiers are still to be announced.
Four wildcards are on offer in the main draw and another four in qualifying and Vacherot has applied with tournament director Cedric Pioline confirming he will be considered.
“What was accomplished in Shanghai is unique, phenomenal, since we’re obviously talking about his run from qualifying to the final, partnering his cousin, Rinderknech, in the final,” the Frenchman said.
“So yes, that’s already an achievement in itself, absolutely incredible. Then, at the Rolex Paris Masters, we have a platform that the Federation makes available to French and foreign players to apply for a wildcard, which closes next Sunday.
“So we will have… and, to answer your question, Vacherot has already applied for a wildcard.”
As a Frenchman, Rinderknech – who has played in the main draw of his home Masters event four times – was always going to be high on the list of players under consideration for a wildcard.
He was one of four local players to earn a wildcard in 2024 and he reached the third while the previous year he lost in the qualifiers.
Vacherot, meanwhile, is hoping to feature at the Paris Masters for the first time in his career as he has only previously played at the Monte Carlo Masters and last week’s Shanghai Masters.
“It would be a dream. Two weeks ago, I would never have imagined I would one day be able to play the Paris (Masters) tournament,” he said.
“I thought I would find myself in Challengers in Asia like I usually do. To find myself at La Défense Arena would be crazy for me.”
