The fairy tale journey of two cousins ​​at Shanghai Masters

The final weeks of the 2025 tennis season are often stressful, especially at the Shanghai tournament in the final days. The players are exhausted when faced with the pressure of competition and extreme heat and humidity. But amid that general fatigue, there was still a beautiful story written, involving 30-year-old tennis player Rinderknech and his 26-year-old cousin Vacherot representing the Principality of Monaco.

After the decisive ace to qualify for the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters, Rinderknech pointed his finger towards his team's seats. There was Vacherot, who celebrated in the same way just a day before. The two brothers smiled brightly because they both won tickets to the semi-finals.

This is a scenario that few people dare to imagine before the tournament in Shanghai begins. At that time, Rinderknech ranked 54th in the world, and Vacherot had to start the tournament as a qualifying reserve because he was ranked outside the top 200 (ranked 204). Now, the two can even face off head-to-head in the final.

In the quarterfinals, Vacherot - the niece of Virginie Paquet, a professional French tennis player in the 1980s and 1990s and Rinderknech's mother - shocked the world's 10th-ranked player Holger Rune. After that, Rinderknech followed his cousin's footsteps with a victory over Felix Auger-Aliassime, who reached the semi-finals of the US Open 2025. The French player was present in the stands to witness Vacherot collapse on the court after overcoming Rune in three sets, to win the right to play in the semi-finals with Novak Djokovic. In return, Vacherot clapped his hands and hit his pillow when his cousin also created a new milestone for his career.

Of the two brothers, Vacherot's journey to the semi-finals was the biggest surprise. After having to miss most of the second half of last season due to a right shoulder injury, Vacherot spent the entire 2025 season participating in Challenger tournaments, except for the tournament in his home town of Monaco, where he received a wildcard. With a ranking not enough to guarantee a place in the Shanghai Masters qualifying round, Vacherot gambled and flew to China. This decision paid off as several players withdrew before the deadline, allowing him to participate in the qualifying round as a reserve.

Since then, the 26-year-old talent has not looked back. He won 7 matches and consecutively defeated 4 seeds including Alexander Bublik, Tomas Machac, Tallon Griekspoor and Rune, to become the second lowest ranked player ever to reach the semi-finals in ATP Masters history. Vacherot, coached by his half-brother Benjamin Balleret, is also the first player representing Monaco to reach the semi-finals of an ATP Tour tournament. The principality in southern France is home to many top tennis players, but has never had a tradition of producing outstanding tennis players.

"I didn't come here as a qualifying player, but as a reserve ", Vacherot said after his victory over Rune. "I wasn't even sure I would be able to compete in the qualifying round. So staying in the tournament until now is really unbelievable for me. I'm happy, like I'm living in a dream ".

Djokovic, who knew coach Balleret through training sessions and used to live in Monaco, commented on Vacherot's achievement: "He wrote a wonderful story ". Vacherot is now about to enter the world top 100 for the first time.

Cousin Rinderknech's journey is no less impressive. Only when approaching the age of 30 did breakthroughs come for the tennis player born in the Cote d'Azur province, adjacent to Monaco. During his birthday month, in the first round of Wimbledon 2025, he surprised by winning after 5 sets of tension with world third-ranked Alexander Zverev.

Coming to Shanghai, Rinderknech continued to defeat Zverev. By defeating Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals, he has won seven matches against top 20 players since June this year, equal to the total number of victories he achieved in his entire previous career. Rinderknech will now reach the highest ranking of his career - 37th, thanks to his first appearance in the semi-finals of a Masters tournament.

But the fairy tale of Rinderknech and Vacherot also lies in the fact that they are close and bonded even though they are not siblings.. These two cousins ​​were teammates at the University of Texas A&M for two and a half years from 2016 to 2018. After many years of hard work, experiencing a series of failures in tournaments, together they created the greatest achievements of their careers. And at those important moments, the other person is always present to witness and share in the joy.

"I followed my cousin ", Rinderknech said, pointing towards Vacherot. "He experienced strong emotions yesterday, and I am trying to follow suit, fight and achieve the same thing. The whole family is watching from home, emotions are breaking out in the family chat group. We feel like we are living in our own little world. What a wonderful, unforgettable journey ".

Today, the journey of the two brothers will continue, when Vacherot meets Djokovic at 3:00 p.m., and Rinderknech's clash with Daniil Medvedev is expected two and a half hours later.