Arthur Rinderknech’s rollercoaster 2025 has swerved from thoughts of retirement to a career-high in the PIF ATP Rankings, all in the space of five months.
The Frenchman’s dream run at the Rolex Shanghai Masters ended in championship-match defeat to his cousin, Valentin Vacherot on Sunday evening. Yet despite the 6-4, 3-6, 3-6 loss, the 30-year-old Rinderknech was quickly able to recognise the scale of his achievement at the Chinese ATP Masters 1000 event.
Did you ever think you'd see this before a trophy ceremony? 🥹
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In mid-June, Rinderknech entered qualifying at the HSBC Championships at London’s Queen’s Club as the owner of a moderate 5-15 tour-level record for the 2025 season. At an emotional Shanghai trophy ceremony on Sunday, he recalled how his early-season struggles had driven him to the brink of ending his pro career and cited the influence of his fellow Frenchman, former Top 10 star Lucas Pouille, in helping him turn his season around.
“Thank you to Lucas [who is] at home,” said Rinderknech, who is 21-11 since the start of Queen’s, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. “We started when I was ‘below the floor’ five months ago. I was thinking about stopping tennis at some points, because I wasn’t seeing the point anymore. You believed in me, you gave me my chance and trusted in me… Now here we are in the Top 30. I hope it’s only the beginning. I can’t thank you enough.”
Rinderknech also saved a special mention for Pouille’s four-year-old daughter, Rose: “I can also thank Rose as much. Rose gave me a lucky charm, and I think it’s a good one. So merci, Rose.”
Rinderknech upset seeded opponents Alex Michelsen, Alexander Zverev, Jiri Lehecka, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Daniil Medvedev en route to the final in Shanghai. He will on Monday rise 26 spots to a career-high No. 28 in the PIF ATP Rankings, while he will also leave China with fond memories of reaching the biggest championship match of his career.
“I want to thank you all for the whole support this week,” said Rinderknech, addressing the crowd at Qizhong Stadium. “It was amazing. Amazing to play on the centre court. The conditions were perfect, one of the nicest centre courts in the world. I enjoyed it so much. I enjoyed the battle. I gave everything I had in every match. It was hot. It was humid. I sweat everything I had.
“Today was not enough to get the win, but I gave it all and that’s all that matters. I really enjoyed my time on the court so thank you to the Chinese fans and the Shanghai population.”
Rinderknech was unable to stop the charge of World No. 204 Vacherot, who produced a stunning deciding-set performance to overcome his older cousin and become the lowest-ranked Masters 1000 titlist in history. As he addressed his cousin in French, Rinderknech was overcome with emotion and struggled to get his words out.
“To Valentin, my dear cousin. You gave everything,” said Rinderknech, as translated by the commentary team. “I’m so happy for you, I hope you are going to have more.”
