Valentin Vacherot’s storybook take on the Rolex Shanghai Masters title was even crazier than the result itself.
Never in the history of the ATP Masters 1000 series had a player ranked as low as Vacherot, then No. 204 in the PIF ATP Rankings, won a title. The 26-year-old had just one ATP Tour match win before the tournament and in the second qualifying round he was two points away from defeat to Liam Draxil.
Vacherot’s girlfriend, Emily Snyder, explained that there were many more interesting behind-the-scenes moments that made the Monagesque player’s filmy performance even more compelling.
It started at Wimbledon, where Vacherot tumbled to the grass against Hamish Stewart during the first qualifying round and retired during the second set. At the time there were concerns that he had torn his ACL.
But Vacherot was able to return to action a month later, competing in several ATP Challenger Tour events, including one at Movistar’s Rafa Nadal Academy in late August. Shortly afterwards, Snyder messaged one of Vacherot’s closest friends about his progress.
“Shanghai doesn’t know what’s coming,” she wrote. “Shanghai, he makes QF.”
Snyder didn’t know what was going to happen. There was some uncertainty as to whether she would join her partner in China, as Vacherot was originally left out of the qualification cut. But once they got there, one of the most improbable runs in the history of the sport began.
After battling through qualifying, Vacherot joined his cousin, Arthur Rinderknech, in the main draw. Vacherot would play one day and the next day Rinderknech would try to compete in the next round.
On days when Rinderknech played, Vacherot and his team would sit in the Frenchman’s penalty area. The group consisted of coach and half-brother Benjamin Balleret.
“We were going to watch Arthur’s game. Arthur’s game was going to end. We were all going to go to the game together.” [same] Italian restaurant because Arthur was only traveling with one other guy,” Snyder said. “For a lot of the other games, Ben, Val’s coach and half-brother, came and he sat and was almost like a coach for Arthur as well.
On October 2, as Vacherot prepared to face fourteenth seed Alexander Bublik, he went with Snyder to Yuyuan Garden, a beautiful area for evening shopping. They went to dinner and then to the area near the Bund. It was Golden Week in China, so there were a lot of people on the streets and it was difficult to find a taxi.
Everything led to this moment… ⁰⁰Arthur & Valentin, what a magical story ❤️⁰⁰#ItAllAddsUp | #RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/ortZfXbDIt
— ATP tour (@atptour) October 12, 2025
That certainly worked. They returned to Monte-Carlo on Monday, more than three years after meeting in a bar in Monaco in the summer of 2022. Snyder was studying abroad in Barcelona — she attended the University of North Carolina — when she took a weekend trip to Monaco. Vacherot was alone at the bar that evening because he was injured and dealing with a stress fracture in his foot.
When they arrived at the local airport, Vacherot’s relatives and best friends from high school surprised him. When they went to lunch on Tuesday, three people stopped Vacherot after seeing what he had accomplished in Shanghai. There was also a party at the Monte-Carlo Country Club, including a visit from Prince Albert II.
“Even now that we’re back, I don’t think it’s fully dawned on either of us what actually happened,” Snyder said. ‘And of course the fact that it was [with] his cousin too, it just makes it crazier. And the whole time it was routine after routine. The intention was that Val would play against five Challengers after Shanghai, but that is clearly not the case now.’
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