On Sunday, August 31st, the 2025 Road to Rolex Masters – ATP Challenger Tour Shanghai kicked off at the Qi Zhong Tennis Centre, one of Juss Sports’ premier venues. The action began with the qualifying rounds, while the main draw officially starts today (September 1).
In order to continue supporting the growth of Chinese tennis and provide more local players with opportunities to compete against the world’s top professionals, the Shanghai Challenger will, as in previous years, award a wild card for the 2025 Rolex Shanghai Masters men’s singles main draw to the best-performing Chinese mainland player. This gives them the chance to showcase their skills and test themselves on an even bigger stage.
Every year, the Challenger attracts a strong field of Chinese players. Zhou Yi, Sun Fajing, Bai Yan, along with wildcard entrants Cui Jie, Te Rigele, and Xiao Lin’ang, will begin their campaigns tomorrow in the main draw.
Meanwhile, Zhang Tianhui, Zeng Yaojie, Wang Aoran, Zhu Shixun, Zhang Linghao, and Liu Hanyi all featured in yesterday’s qualifying rounds. Among them, Zeng Yaojie who defeated Japan’s Matsuda Ryuju to advance to the final round of qualifying, which was played today.
Among the Chinese players competing in this year’s tournament, Zhou Yi has been on a strong run. In June, he reached his first Challenger final at the CH75 Taylor Challenger and followed it up with a semifinal showing in Winnipeg, Canada in July. At last year’s Rolex Shanghai Masters, Zhou—competing as a wildcard—earned his first career Masters 1000 main draw victory and, together with Wang Aoran, pulled off a surprise doubles win over the former semi-finalist pair Sadio Doumbia/Fabien Reboul to advance to the second round. This time, Zhou and Wang will not only compete in the singles draw but also reunite as a doubles team.
Meanwhile, Sun Fajing, a late bloomer, celebrated a breakthrough in May by winning his first Challenger singles title in Wuxi, pushing his world ranking into the Top 200 for the first time. He also recently claimed his first Grand Slam qualifying victory at the US Open.
As for the experienced Bai Yan, a familiar face to fans, he has been delivering consistent results on the ITF circuit this season and is looking to make his mark at this year’s event.
Zhou Yi/Wang Aoran, Sun Fajing, and Bai Yan at the 2024 Rolex Shanghai Masters
Today, the main draw of the Shanghai Challenger is officially underway. The tournament’s top seed is Daniel Evans of Great Britain, a two-time ATP Tour champion who has reached a career-high ranking of World No. 21 and is not to be underestimated.
The second seed, Yosuke Watanuki of Japan, was the silver medallist at the 2023 Asian Games (falling to Zhang Zhizhen in the final) and earlier this year reached the Round of 16 at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells for the first time.
The third seed is another Japanese player, Yoshihito Nishioka, a three-time ATP singles champion with plenty of proven ability on tour.
Daniel Evans, Yosuke Watanuki, and Yoshihito Nishioka at the 2024 Rolex Shanghai Masters
Over the years, the Shanghai Challenger has earned widespread praise from players for its outstanding event operations and organizational standards. It has provided athletes with a valuable platform to showcase their skills, gain experience, and open doors to the global stage. The hope is that more young players will “gather in Shanghai,” beginning their journey from the Challenger and growing step by step into true tennis masters.
Who will lift the 2025 “Road to Rolex Shanghai Masters” Shanghai Challenger trophy and claim the valuable 100 ATP ranking points? Let’s wait and see.
