The most prestigious ATP Tour tournament in Asia, the 14th edition of the Rolex Shanghai Masters, is headlined by the Top 2 players in the PIF ATP Rankings Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, who won last year's title. The two young superstars have met in the last three Grand Slam finals with the Spaniard winning Roland-Garros and the US Open and the Italian capturing Wimbledon. Sinner also repeated his Australian Open title in January. Overall, they have accounted for the last eight Grand Slam titles in 2024-25.
Reigning champion Jannik Sinner raises the 2024 Rolex Shanghai Masters trophy
They have reached the final in the last five tournaments when they have competed in together going back to May in Rome where Alcaraz won in straight sets. The Spaniard also won at Roland-Garros in June in the longest final in tournament history (5 hrs, 29 mins) before Sinner won in four sets in the Wimbledon final. Alcaraz then won the last two meetings at ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati and the US Open. Alcaraz regained No. 1 on September 8 after his sixth career Grand Slam title. Sinner held No. 1 for 65 consecutive weeks since first taking over on June 10, 2024.
The two are battling for the year-end No. 1 ranking with Alcaraz holding a 2,590-point lead in the Race to Turin standings based on 2025 results only. In 2022, Alcaraz finished as the youngest (19) year-end No. 1 in the history of the ATP Rankings (since 1973) and last season Sinner became the first Italian to rank year-end No. 1.
Carlos Alcaraz at the 2024 Rolex Shanghai Masters
In the short history of the Rolex Shanghai Masters, five of the seven champions have ranked No. 1 in their career and leading that group is Novak Djokovic, who has won a tournament-record four titles (2012-13, 2015, 2018). Djokovic, who lost in last year's final to Sinner, will be making his 11th appearance, all as a Top 4 seed. The 38-year-old Serbian legend has the most Shanghai wins (39) and he's never lost before the quarterfinals, reaching the semifinals or better nine times.
Novak Djokovic celebrates reaching yet another final in Shanghai
There are two other former Rolex Shanghai Masters champions in the second-to-last ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the season -- Daniil Medvedev (2019) and Hubert Hurkacz (2023). Only twice in 13 previous stagings of the Rolex Shanghai Masters has a player ranked outside the Top 4 won the title -- No. 8 Nikolay Davydenko in the inaugural event in 2009 and No. 17 Hurkacz two years ago.
While Alcaraz has won three ATP Masters 1000 titles this season (Monte Carlo, Rome, Cincinnati), there have been four first-time Masters 1000 champions -- Ben Draper (Indian Wells), Jakub Mensik (Miami), Casper Ruud (Madrid) and Ben Shelton (Toronto). Draper is out for the rest of the season with a left arm injury.
There are five local players in the 96-player main draw (not including possible qualifiers). Leading the way is Chinese No. 1 Bu Yunchaokete, who reached a career-high ranking of No. 64 in April. The other four are wild cards Shang Juncheng, Wu Yibing, Zhang Zhizhen, and Zhou Yi. Former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka, a crowd favorite in Shanghai, will be making his 12th Rolex Shanghai Masters appearance, the most of any player in tournament history. He is a wild card entry.
A major upgrade this year is the second retractable roof on Stadium Court 2, further enhancing the fan and player experience by ensuring weatherproof conditions. There's also a new 1,200-seat fan court where spectators can watch players during their practice sessions.
The new retractable roof on Stadium Court 2 (l.) & the Royal Caribbean Masters Court (r.)
“We are looking forward to another exciting Rolex Shanghai Masters and we have an outstanding field,” said tournament director Michael Luevano. “With the addition of the new fan court, which seats 1,200, spectators will have the opportunity to watch their favorite players during practice sessions.”
