Shanghai Masters 2025: Key Storylines Ahead of the ATP Showcase in China

The 2025 Rolex Shanghai Masters kicked off, and we're already a couple of days in. The China tournament is an outdoor hard courts competition that gathers some of the best players in the world at this moment. It is the 14th edition of the tourney, and as an ATP Masters 1000 it carries a lot of weight this late in the year. The tourney started on October 1st, and it will be wrapped up on October 12th with the grand final. The home for the Shanghai Masters is the now famous Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena in Shanghai.

Before the tournament, and now, with only days in, all tennis eyes are set on China. There's plenty of things happening at the tournament, and here are the key storylines marking it so far.

The 2025 Rolex Shanghai Masters was meant to be a showdown between bets of the best. Yet, we were stripped of the opportunity to watch another classic between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Unfortunately, the Spaniard had to withdraw from the tournament, and we will not be seeing Carlos in China. Carlos had an amazing start to the far east tennis season, and managed to take home the ATP 500 in Tokyo. After defeating Taylor Fritz in Tokyo, Alcaraz has added another trophy to his cabinet and the number for the rising star now stands at 24. Despite starting the Asian campaign on a high note, Alcaraz and his medical team have determined that his ankle was not in the best condition and have decided to withdraw his participation from the 2025 Rolex Shanghai Masters. The injury comes as no surprise as it was evident that his ankle got twisted during the Tokyo match against Sebastian Baez. The best route to take, in order to retain the No1 spot at the ATP rankings was to withdraw from this tournament, and recuperate for the remainder of the year. Carlos Alcaraz's absence from the 2025 Shanghai Masters has changed the betting landscape of the tournament, so before you get deeper into it, it's better to take a look at these Shanghai Masters Expert Picks and Predictions.

Tabilo's name was not one to be expected to be heard during the Shanghai Masters and yet here we are. The Chilean tennis star made a name for himself late in the year when he won the Chengdu Open. The climate in China must be suiting him as he climbed the ATP rankings by 40 spots after winning the Chengdu Open. With the prize for winning the masters in Shanghai being set at $1 million, Alejandro is more than motivated to continue his good form in Shanghai too. With 28 years to his name, Tabilo is not a new name on the ATP caravan. Yet, he's not one to make the headlines all too often. His 2025 Rolex Shanghai Masters adventure started in the qualification rounds where he had to play two matches to get to the main draw. We're talking about two easy wins against the hometown player Cui and a duel vs. Mayot. Both matches were 2:0 wins for Tabilo. In the main draw he recorded another win vs. Marcos Giron, and it was another easy 2:0 encounter. His next duel is on schedule on 4th of October against Felix Auger Aliassime. The Canadian tennis player is favoured for this duel with odds on his win being set at 1.60. Yet, if the China hard court season has taught us anything, it is that it is Tabilo's playground. If you plan to bet on Shanghai Masters, please take a chance on Alejandro's 2.34 odds in this duel, as we see him as someone who could go far in Shanghai.

When will Novak Djokovic retire? It's a good question, and one we do not have an answer for. The Serbian legend has achieved everything achievable in the world of tennis, but his hunger remained. After years of training and dieting on the highest level his body is not yet prepared to say enough. His mind at the same time can last even longer. That's just the man and the player Novak is. At the moment, Novak holds the record for most wins at the Shanghai Masters with four titles, and the question arose whether this year's appearance will be his last in Shanghai. This year's appearance is going to be his 11th at the tournament, and the first one after he was resting in the aftermath of the US Open. Djokovic was very selective about the tournaments he played this season, and the appearance in Shanghai will be his only 12th tournament of the year.

When asked about his future, and next year's Shanghai Djokovic said that he believes that he will be here next year too. Yet, he is too shy to promise it, as at this stage of his career Novak has no long term plans of his own accord. The plan for this year was to play the 2025 Shanghai's Masters, and then to go back to Athens and take a rest. There's a chance that he will play at least one or two tournaments this year, but no appearance of his was scheduled at this moment. While Djokovic is entering the twilight years of his career, he is still one of the top three players in the world, the same title he held for the bigger part of his career. His odds on Stake.com to win the Shanghai Masters reflect this as he's second favourite to win it after Jannik Sinner. With Nole's odds set at 9.00 he could prove to be a good wager.

The era of Nadal, Djokovic, and Federer ended a few years back. Novak is still going strong, but the new faces run the ATP these days. Unlike in the previous few decades, the fight for the No1 spot at the ATP rankings is led between two men, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. The Spaniard is currently the number one ranked tennis player in the world but that could change post Shanghai Masters. Sinner lost the US Open final to Alcaraz and lost the No1 spot in the rankings in the aftermath of that defeat. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but the Italian is more than prepared to take his ranking back. He has an ideal chance to do it at the 2025 Rolex Shanghai Masters as the tournament carries a 1000 point reward, and he's behind Carlos only 590 points. With the Spaniard already out of the tournament, the road is open for Sinner to both take the Shanghai trophy home and to regain his No1 spot. The odds on the Italian to win it are set at 1.72 making him a clear cut favorite to take the crown at the Shanghai Open. He is also the defending champion so he has plenty to play for. With another win in China, Sinner would join Roger Federer as a two time winner, would be one title behind Andy Murray who has three, and two behind the record holder Novak Djokovic who has four.

While winning tennis matches is not all about money, we can't look past the high rewards some of these tournaments bring forth. The Shanghai Masters has long been seen as the crown jewel of the Asian swing. The 14th edition of the tourney promises to be the best one ever. In addition to its prestige as one of the only nine ATP 1000 masters, and the only one being played outside North America and Europe, it also has one of the highest prizes outside of the Grand Slams among all tournaments. The total prize pool for this year is set at $9.19 million. The winner takes home staggering $1.12 million in singles edition, while the double winners share the sum of $457,150. The player who loses the final is rewarded with $597,890, while the semi-finalists each receive $332,160. Even players who end their Shanghai path in quarter finals and the Round of 16 are well rewarded with $189,075, and $103,225, respectively.

The Asian swing is a great part of the year for many players to improve their ATP standings and to fill their pockets. One of those who has taken most advantage of it so far is Taylor Fritz. The American was already in the spotlight in Tokyo where he reached the final, and eventually lost to Carlos Alcaraz. With Alcaraz now out of the picture he will be looking to make another great run in Shanghai. The competition at the top is stiff even without Carlos, and unfortunately, at Shanghai Masters, Fritz was drawn on the Sinner's side of the bracket. The two could meet as early as in the quarter finals. The good side is that if he manages to beat Jannik or if someone else does it, we're looking at you Novak. Fritz would have the road open to take home the 2025 Rolex Shanghai Masters. The bookies agree with us and with his odds set at 13.00, Taylor Fritz is the fourth favorite to take the crown in Shanghai. The only better ranked players at the tourney are Sinner with 1.72 odds, Novak with 9.00, and Zverev with 12.00. Fritz's next opponent is the Hungarian player Fabian Marozsan, and he is heavily favoured to win this one with his odds being 1.30, while Marozsan's are 3.50. So far, the road is open for Fritz to go far.

After Carlos Alcaraz's withdrawal from the 2025 Shanghai Masters, the bracket shifted, and we are now slotted to see some of the best players out there facing each other sooner than anticipated. The bigger draw of the tournament, as things stand now, would be a potential rematch between Novak and Jannik. The Serb and the Italian would face in the semi-finals of this tournament if both manage to get that far. The two have previously met in the semi-finals of the Roland Garros this season. Djokovic has been inactive since his semi-final loss to Alcaraz at the US Open. The way things stand now, Djokovic is destined to play either Alcaraz or Sinner in the semi-finals of all the major tournaments. While age has caught up to Novak, he is still at the top of his game, despite probably not being on Alcaraz's and Sinner's level. This year he has an 31-11 record, and has managed to reach at least the semi-final of every Grand Slam this