It\x26#39;s smashing!
By Ned Kelly
Here is the lowdown on the 2025 Rolex Shanghai Masters, which runs October 1 to 12.
ATP Masters 1000 Series
2014 & 2017 Rolex Shanghai Masters Champion—and crowd favorite—Roger Federer will be in Shanghai in an ambassadorial role
Going into its 14th edition, the tournament is the eighth leg of the nine-leg ATP Masters 1000, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America and—as of Shanghai 2009—Asia.
The series constitutes the most prestigious tournaments in men's tennis after the four Grand Slam events and the ATP World Tour Finals.
How It Works
The 96 best singles players in the world will descend on Shanghai, with all top-ranked ATP players automatically entered and obliged to compete.
Those 96 are made up of 79 direct acceptance players, 12 qualifiers, and five wildcards, with the main draw of the tournament spread out over a 12 day period.
Every round is a straight up best-of-three-set knockout, the top 16 seeds receiving a bye into the second round.
That not enough for you? There is also a 32-team doubles competition.
Players
Record four-time Rolex Shanghai Masters Champion, Novak Djokovic
Great news: 24-time Grand Slam champion and four-time Rolex Shanghai Masters champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia will compete, marking his first tournament since the 2025 US Open.
Current World Number 2, and reigning Rolex Shanghai Masters Champion, Italian Jannik Sinner
The top two players in the world will also be in attendance: Italian Jannik Sinner, who beat Djokovic to lift last year's Rolex Shanghai Masters title, and Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz.
World Number 1, Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz
The two young superstars have met in the last three Grand Slam finals, with the Spaniard winning Roland-Garros, the US Open, and Wimbledon, and Sinner winning the Australian Open.
Overall, they have accounted for the last eight Grand Slam titles.
Russia's Daniil Medvedev, who won the Rolex Shanghai Masters back in 2019
Another former Rolex Shanghai Masters champion vying for the 2025 crown will be Russian Daniil Medvedev, who won in 2019.
Other top 10 players include Alexander Zverev of Germany, American duo Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton, and Aussie Alex de Minaur.
Points
It is named the ATP Masters 1000 as that is how many ATP rankings points the winner is awarded, with a sliding scale down from there for the losing finalist, semi-finalists and so on—a player losing in the first round earning a modest 10 points.
The eight players with the most ATP ranking points at the end of the year qualify for the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy, so those points are no small incentive.
That and the small matter of a US$9,193,538 prize money purse...
Prize Money
Total prize money for the 2025 Rolex Shanghai Masters is a whopping US$9,193,538 (RMB65.5 million).
The singles champion will earn US$1,124,380, while even a player bowing out in the first round will earn US$23,760.
The doubles champions will earn US$457,150, while a team losing in the first round receives US$19,050.
Venue & Courts
The hard courts of the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena host all the action, with matches played in outdoor conditions.
Faster than clay, but not as fast as grass, hard courts are generally considered to give quick, hard-hitting players a slight advantage.
But it is only slight, making for the most open, hard-to-call competitions on the circuit.
Fun Fact: The arena has a steel retractable roof, with eight sliding petal-shaped pieces resembling a blooming magnolia, the city flower of Shanghai.
The Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena has also significantly enhanced its facilities, most notably with the addition of a retractable roof on Grandstand Court 2.
This remarkable upgrade (completed in just one year—China speed, baby!) makes Shanghai only the second ATP 1000 event with two covered stadiums, ensuring an uninterrupted schedule for players and fans regardless of the weather.
Responding to the fans' enthusiasm for watching players train, a new grandstand has been built around Practice Court 17, which will also feature additional food and beverage options.
Finally, a new Tennis Museum has been inaugurated in front of Grandstand 2, offering an added attraction accessible to all fans with a ground pass.
Oh, and there is a new dog park. Woof!
Tickets
Tickets range in price from RMB130 up to RMB24,160 if you want to swank it up in a VIP box. Check out the full listing and Center Court seating map below.
Scan the QR code below to get your tickets now:
Getting There
Didi: Type in 'Qizhong Tennis Center'
Metro: Nearest station is Zhuanqiao on Line 5, but that is still about 20 minutes from the arena.
Bus: The Rolex Shanghai Masters will be putting on special buses from Xinzhuang metro station in Minhang District, which is on both Line 1 and Line 5, as well as from Shanghai Indoor Stadium metro station downtown, which is on both Line 1 and Line 4.
Check out the schedule below...
Tournament Director
When it comes to organizing major international sporting events in China, Michael Luevano is the man.
Tournament director of the Rolex Shanghai Masters, he also oversees the F1 Chinese Grand Prix and equestrian - LONGINES Global Champions Tour of Shanghai.
Oh, and he's put on Shanghai shows for Elton John, Eric Clapton, and the Rolling Stones for good measure.
We sat down with him for an interview back in 2020—click the link below to read it...
READ MORE: Michael Luevano, Tournament Director of the Rolex Shanghai Masters
2025 Shanghai Rolex Masters, Oct 1-12; RMB130–24,160
Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena 5500 Yuanjiang Lu, by Kunyang Lu, Minhang District 马桥镇元江路5500号, 近昆阳路.
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