Valentin Vacherot on barging into the Top 100 | ATP Tour

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Vacherot on barging into the Top 100, with family members in tow!

Monaco native rallied from a set down against Rune to reach Shanghai SFs

October 09, 2025

The emotions set in for Valentin Vacherot moments after he completed his fifth comeback win from a set down at the 2025 Rolex Shanghai Masters to become the first player born in Monaco to reach an ATP Tour semi-final.

After wiping away tears of joy, the 26-year-old signed the courtside TV lens, “Top 100!!!”

The qualifier rallied for his biggest career win over the No. 11 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Holger Rune, 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 in the second-longest match of the 2025 tournament (two hours, 59 minutes). It was his third main-draw win from a set down and fifth overall including two qualifying matches. He will next face four-time champion Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals.

“It was a lot of emotions, and I already had a lot of emotions,” said Vacherot, who is the first qualifier to reach the semi-finals in the history of the Chinese ATP Masters 1000. “I was a bit going through the emotions, through everything. The first three wins, especially the one in the third round was tough to enjoy because Tomas (Machac) had to retire. But already the round of 16 against Griekspoor was a lot of emotions. It was an unreal moment.

“This one even more. My first semi-final. Also going from [World No. 204] to No. 92. It was just an unreal moment for me. So much emotion. To get to share that with my coach and brother, my girlfriend, Arthur [Rinderknech] my cousin. Still feels like there are still a few people with me here, and also ready to tomorrow to cheer on Arthur.”

Rinderknech, who plays No. 12 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals on Friday, knew his cousin would one day join him in the Top 100.

“I wasn’t doubting at all, but I was waiting for this moment for a long time,” said Frenchman Rinderknech. “I can’t wait to have a full year with him on the Tour and the following years.”

A moment to remember 🙌@val_vacherot outlasts Rune 2-6 7-6(4) 6-4 to reach a maiden ATP Masters 1000 semi-final.@SH_RolexMasters | #RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/l29tKkSJsh

— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 9, 2025

Last year, Vacherot was on the verge of breaking into the Top 100, reaching No. 110 in the PIF ATP Rankings on June 24, 2024. But a right shoulder injury forced him to be sidelined for most of the final seven months of the season, during which he played in just two tournaments, and none after retiring in the second round of qualifying at the US Open.

“I had a really tough one last year when I got hurt after Roland Garros in May, being 30 points away from the Top 100, just sitting on the couch, seeing myself not moving in the rankings, and then after going down,” said Vacherot, who finished last season at No. 140 and fell as low as No. 267 on June 23 this year. “I knew it wasn’t going to be easy this year to get back at the ranking.

“It took me a while. Even before this tournament I was ranked at 204, so it’s still really far from the Top 100.”

On the original qualifying cutoff list in Shanghai, Vacherot was 22 spots from getting into the draw. And when he arrived in the city on the Thursday night before qualifying began on Monday, he was still nine spots out. He learned less than 36 hours before qualifying began that he would make it into the draw.

“I knew there was a big chance because Shanghai is one of the last Masters 1000s [of the year] and a few guys, if you’re hurt at the end of the season, you are not taking risks. I knew it would drop,” said Vacherot, whose only previous Masters 1000 main draw in his career came in Monte-Carlo in April, when he lost in the second round.

“I said, worst of all, I was going to be here one week earlier, because I was going to play five more Challengers after,” he said. “Now I’m just going to go home after this tournament, so it’s another funny story. I said to myself, if I don’t get in, I just train in the conditions of China for just one week and just be ready for after.”

His half-brother Benjamin Balleret has been coaching him since 2022 and knows what the Top 100 milestone means.

“There was the injury last year and we were so close from the Top 100,” said Balleret. “You have to start all over again and so it was very difficult for him to accept. It’s a bit emotional because he’s my brother and I see him grow and I know that he wants it so much.

“Sometimes I feel he wants it too much. Also because we started from zero. He came back from college and had zero points. I believe in him, he believed in me. He believed in my experience to help him. So for all that it’s emotional.”

Valentin Vacherot/Arthur Rinderknech” style=”width: 100%;” src=”https://www.atptour.com/-/media/images/news/2025/10/09/14/33/vacherot-rinderknech-monte-carlo-2006-cousins.jpg”>

_{^{Vacherot (aged 7) and his cousin Rinderknech (aged 10) at the 2006 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. Photo courtesy of Benjamin Balleret}}

Rinderknech was in the player guest box on Thursday and was proud of his cousin’s resilience.

“He was really fighting throughout the match today and he found a way, a little bit like his previous round. He found a way to win the second set, and physically Holger was struggling in the third,” said the Frenchman. “It’s a single sport, so a lot of variables, and if any of them is not at 100 percent, nowadays everybody is just so close level-wise that it showed.”

Rinderknech and Vacherot played two and a-half seasons at Texas A&M University and their coach from those days, former ATP pro Steve Denton, was watching the final two sets at home around 3 a.m.

“He is quite a fighter and the thing I always admired about Val is he never gave up and he went for it in the big moments,” said Denton. “It was great to see his resilience and he went for it late in the tie-breaker and that was ultimately the difference. I couldn’t be prouder of him and his brother Ben. They have been through a lot together and Val has learned his lessons well. He is ready.”