Vacherot's Shanghai title run over the past two weeks is probably the biggest surprise of this 2025 season so far. A player from Monaco, outside the usual spotlight and even outside the top 200 (#204 before the tournament), managed to eliminate some well-established names on his way and seize a Masters 1000 trophy against his cousin in the final (a family affair on top of that). He went all the way from the qualification to the title, with 6 of 9 matches going to 3 sets. That's very inspiring for sure.
What does this victory really mean in the complex context of tennis and its future, though? It might be considered as a simple 'one-off Cinderella run', but it could also signify that tennis is shifting towards a more open and unpredictable era where the depth of the field matters more than the aura or power of players on the very top. One thing is possible: from now on, victories like this might be more common than before, especially if the two best players of this generation (Sinner and Alcaraz) are absent in the late stages of tournaments.
What does this victory really mean in the complex context of tennis and its future, though? It might be considered as a simple 'one-off Cinderella run', but it could also signify that tennis is shifting towards a more open and unpredictable era where the depth of the field matters more than the aura or power of players on the very top. One thing is possible: from now on, victories like this might be more common than before, especially if the two best players of this generation (Sinner and Alcaraz) are absent in the late stages of tournaments.
