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In the wake of the all-cousin final in Shanghai, a game-changing rise in the rankings for both runner-up Arthur Rinderknech and champion Valentin Vacherot.
(In fact, it was a good week for Valentins and Arthurs overall – see below).
And it’s that time of year where players on the bubble for the next Grand Slam – i.e., the Australian Open in January – have to start thinking about trying to get over that line.
Notably players like David Goffin, James Duckworth and Roman Safiullin, who have fallen out of range.
Plenty of events still to come. And some good battles for the ATP Finals still going.
For the complete, updated ATP Tour rankings for Monday, click here.
Lorenzo Musetti (ITA): No. 9 ============> No. 8
(Musetti slips past the idle Jack Draper and into the top eight, even though a fourth-round effort in Shanghai was probably a bit disappointing).
Daniil Medvedev (RUS): No. 18 ============> No. 14
(Somewhat of a renaissance fortnight for the Russian in Shanghai, where he reminded us that he can still play tennis).
Tallon Griekspoor (NED): No. 31 ============> No. 27
(The Dutchman is back into the top 30 after a run to the second week in Shanghai, benefiting from Sinner’s retirement due to cramp. But he, like so many, lost to eventual champion Valentin Vacherot. He’s already out of Stockholm, though – in a third-set tiebreak marathon to Jacob Fearnley)
Arthur Rinderknech (FRA): No. 54 ============> No. 28
(At 30, Rinderknech hits a career high after his impressive effort in Shanghai. That he did it with so much class in a situation where he played his little cousin only adds bonus points to his effort. Rinderknech’s previous high of No. 44 came at the start of 2023. But mostly he’d been that guy in the 50-60-70 range for the last four years – a player who could come up with a big performance on the day, and then regress to the mean. After beating Zverev, Lehecka, Auger-Aliassime and Medvedev in a week, we’ll see if it gives him wings).
Valentin Vacherot (MON): No. 204 ============> No. 40
(There’s not much more to say about the effort of this 26-year-old, a late bloomer who went through the US college system at Texas A&M – as did his cousin – and was on his way up until an injury cost him six months last year. He won more matches in Shanghai at the ATP level than he had his entire career before that – he was 6-7 at that level coming in. The total of 1,020 ranking points, after going through qualies, has to be a record. And the list of scalps was impressive. It’ll be fascinating to see where he goes from here. Because his life has now officially changed).
Arthur Cazaux (FRA): No. 70 ============> No. 58
(The No. 1 seed at the Jinan Challenger got there after losing a third-set tiebreak to Cameron Norrie in the second round of Shanghai. And he made the most of it. He dropped just one set in winning the event and moving to a new career high. Valentins and Arthurs made it BIG last week).
Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP): No. 123 ============> No. 104
(The 34-year-old, whose career high of No. 10 came all theh way back in 2017, is still grinding. He gets close to a main-draw spot at the Australian Open by winning the Challenger in Villena, Spain two weeks ago).
Cristian Garin (CHI): No. 125 ============> No. 108
(The former world No. 17, like many of his South American compadres, is playing the fall clay-court Challenger circuit down there to nail down that first-round money in Melbourne in January. Garin wins the Challenger in Antofagasta, at home in Chile, two weeks ago to make a move in that direction).
Otto Virtanen (FIN): No. 140 ============> No. 116
(Virtanen is another player who’d love to skip the qualifying in Melbourne. And he helps his case by winning the Challenger in Roanne last week – four of his five opponents were Frenchmen, and beating Hugo Gaston in the final is a good win. He has some work to do, though).
Luka Mikrut (CRO): No. 239 ============> No. 159
The little-known 21-year-old from Croatia is moving up quickly on the Challenger circuit; as recently as April he was playing $15K ITF tournaments, and dominating at that level. He won a Challenger in Como in late August, another in Portugal two weeks ago and made the final last week in Valencia. That a title and a final is worth just 80 spots in the rankings tells you how hard it is to move up these days).
Arthur Rinderknech (FRA) (No. 28)
Valentin Vacherot (FRA) (No. 40)
Arthur Cazaux (FRA) (No. 58)
Valentin Royer (FRA) (No. 70)
Tommy Paul (USA): No. 15 ============> No. 18
(After his Roland Garros quarterfinal, Paul was at a career high No. 8. But it’s been a tough go since then. he suffered abdominal and adductor injuries during his run in Paris. And he ruptured a tendon in his foot at Wimbledon. That foot issue appears, at least in part, to have been the consequence of having his well-broken-in orthotics go missing in Madrid, and having to break in a new pair. He lost to Dan Evans (No. 170), Sebastian Ofner (No. 165) and Adrian Mannarino (No. 89) before going down in five sets to Alexander Bublik at the US Open. And he hasn’t played since. He missed Laver Cup and Davis Cup, too. He’s still on the entry list for Vienna, but you’d expect that’s TBD).
Jakub Mensik (CZE): No. 16 ============> No. 199
(Mensik has had a tough time since Madrid, after making all that noise in Miami. He’s won back-to-back matches rarely: Rome, Wimbledon. That’s it. He retired in Beijing, and he lost his opener to Jesper de Jong in Shanghai).
Tomas Machac (CZE): No. 23 ============> No. 30
(Another Czech who has struggled some in Machac, who won Acapulco in early March. He retired at Indian Wells, offered a walkover in Miami, retired in Geneva and Roland Garros, and retired against Vacherot in Shanghai).
Gael Monfils (FRA): No. 55 ============> No. 65
(The popular Frenchman didn’t play Shanghai, where he made the fourth round a year ago. He announced 2026 will be his final year, so it remains to be seen how much he’ll play. He should have a nice, long off-season to take a break).
David Goffin (BEL): No. 83 ============> No. 105
(Goffin, who turns 35 in December, worked hard in 2024 to get back into the top 50, after falling as low as No. 133 early in the year and having to play the qualifying in Melbourne. He might have to do it again, if he doesn’t find a way to get some points. He faces Francisco Comesana in the first round of Brussels on Tuesday).
Roman Safiullin RUS): No. 106 ============> No. 132
(Safiullin began the 2024 season at a career high No. 36. But it’s been a slog this year. He’s 7-17 at the ATP level, and he hasn’t played since losing to Félix Auger-Aliassime in the second round of the US Open).
