Rating Raducanu's season – and what does future hold?
BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller looks at how Emma Raducanu’s 2025 season went – and what the future could hold.
BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller looks at how Emma Raducanu’s 2025 season went – and what the future could hold.
Daniil Medvedev gained revenge against Adam Walton on Thursday at the Almaty Open, where he overcame the Australian 7-5, 7-6(0) to reach the quarter-finals at the ATP 250.
Medvedev lost to the Australian in Cincinnati in August but ensured history would not repeat itself in Kazakhstan. The second seed trailed 1-4 in the second set and fended off four break points in the sixth game of the second set to avoid trailing 1-5.
After holding, Medvedev went on the charge. He upped his depth in the baseline exchanges and struck 12 winners in the second set to advance after one hour and 45 minutes. Medvedev reached the semi-finals in Shanghai and Beijing and has won eight of his past 10 matches. He will next play Fabian Marozsan.
“It was a very tough match. The game at 1-4, I think I saved four or five break points. It was crucial because then I managed to break back and get back into my rhythm, so I am pleased to have defeated a tough opponent,” said Medvedev, who is level at 1-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Walton.
The 29-year-old, chasing his first title since 2023, is up one spot to 14th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin and could still qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the seventh consecutive year. He trails eighth-placed Lorenzo Musetti by 1025 points. The Italian is in the final qualification spot.
Earlier, Shintaro Mochizuki and Alex Michelsen set a quarter-final meeting in Almaty. Japanese star Mochizuki defeated fourth-seeded Italian Luciano Darderi 6-3, 6-3 to advance to the last eight at a tour-level event for the first time this season.
The 22-year-old, who reached the semis in Tokyo in 2023, is up 10 spots to No. 92 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and is set to crack the Top 100 for the first time on Monday. Mochizuki dominated the baseline exchanges against Darderi at the indoor hard-court event to advance after just 65 minutes.
Michelsen arrived in Almaty on a five-match losing run but has looked good in Kazakhstan. The American downed Beibit Zhukayev in the first round and backed that up with a 6-3, 6-2 triumph against Aleksandar Vukic.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Britain’s Emma Raducanu ends her season early because of illness and agrees a deal with coach Francisco Roig for next season.
Valentin Vacherot’s storybook run to the Rolex Shanghai Masters title was even crazier than the result itself.
Never in ATP Masters 1000 series history had a player ranked as low as Vacherot, then No. 204 in the PIF ATP Rankings, won a title. The 26-year-old had only earned one ATP Tour match victory before the tournament and in the second round of qualifying he was two points from defeat against Liam Draxil.
Vacherot’s girlfriend, Emily Snyder, explained that behind the scenes there were plenty more interesting moments that made the Monagesque player’s movie-like run even more riveting.
It started at Wimbledon, where Vacherot took a tumble on the grass during the first round of qualifying against Hamish Stewart, retiring during the second set. At the time, there was concern 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 the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar at the end of August. Shortly thereafter, Snyder messaged one of Vacherot’s best friends about his progress.
“Shanghai doesn’t know what’s coming,” she wrote. “Shanghai he’s making QF.”
Little did Snyder know what was coming. There was some uncertainty about whether she would join her partner in China because Vacherot was originally outside of the qualifying cut. But once they were there, one of the most improbable runs in the sport’s history began.
After battling through qualifying, Vacherot joined his cousin, Arthur Rinderknech, in the main draw. Vacherot would play one day and then the next, Rinderknech would try to join him in the next round.
On days when Rinderknech played, Vacherot and his team would sit in the Frenchman’s box. The group included coach and half-brother, Benjamin Balleret.
“We would go watch Arthur’s match. Arthur’s match would finish. We would go all together to the [same] Italian restaurant because Arthur was only traveling with one other guy,” Snyder said. “For a lot of the other matches, Ben — Val’s coach and half brother — would come, and he would sit and almost kind of be like a coach for Arthur, too.”
On 2 October, as Vacherot prepared to face 14th seed Alexander Bublik, he went with Snyder to Yuyuan Garden, a beautiful area to go shopping in the evening. They went for dinner and to the area near The Bund after. It was Golden Week in China, so there were many people on the streets and it was difficult to find a taxi.
<img alt=”Valentin Vacherot and Emily Snyder” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/10/16/03/49/vacherot-snyder-shanghai-2025-yuyuan.jpg” />
The only method they had to pay for one was Vacherot’s phone, which was down to five per cent. By the time they ultimately got back to the hotel, it was at one per cent. That was a “phew” moment. The next day Vacherot upset Bublik and his breakthrough tournament was becoming increasingly notable. The World No. 204 was playing at a significantly higher level than that.
“Every single night, we would get back to the hotel, and we would both just stand and stare at each other and then start laughing,” Snyder said. “We would be like, ‘Are we in a dream? Is this real life?’”
At the same time, Snyder faced a dilemma. Her transit visa was only good for 10 days and she had planned to visit a friend in Singapore.
But as Vacherot continued moving through the tournament, Snyder cancelled flights day after day until he defeated Tallon Griekspoor in the fourth round. At that point, she needed to leave the country for an evening.
“At 4 a.m. after he beat Griekspoor, we were sitting there and he was like, ‘Okay, you have to take a flight. We have to figure out where to go. What’s the cheapest? What’s the closest?’” Snyder recalled. “But honestly to some extent, it was such a routine that it had been happening so much that it was like, ‘Okay, what flight are we booking today?’ Because almost every single day we were changing a flight or booking a new flight. And he’s pretty calm in those situations. He doesn’t really panic. It’s more so me, that I [was] panicked.”
Snyder eventually flew to Osaka for a night and woke up early the next morning to return to China. After traveling back, there was barely enough time to get back to site for Vacherot’s quarter-final match against Holger Rune. Another day, another win for the underdog story of the season.
“I think what helped the entire time. It was one match at a time,” Snyder said. “I’ve always asked him whenever we’re watching other people play, I’ll be like, ‘What would be going through your head at this moment?’” Snyder said. “And he [said] at any moment, during any match, he would usually say if he’s winning, that he would probably be more stressed about keeping up the break instead of the opposite.
“He’s like, ‘You have nothing to lose if you’re down, whereas if you’re winning, then there’s maybe a little bit more pressure, a little bit more stress’.”
That was a fitting mindset for Vacherot’s tournament. He lost the first set in six of his nine matches and won them all.
“The entire time Val was like, ‘I have nothing to lose. I’ve made it this far, why would I stop now?’” recalled Snyder.
Vacherot never stopped, making history in Shanghai. Although he nor Snyder knew it at the time, they both were superstitious during the tournament.
Shortly after the final, Snyder told Vacherot she used the same toilet every day to avoid changing things up.
“Then he tells me, ‘I’m not even kidding you, I used the same exact shower every single day, twice a day, same shower’,” Snyder said. “On the car rides to and from the hotel, me, his coach, we all sat in the same exact seats. We refused to change it. We were like, ‘Okay, routine is working, we’re not going to change anything’.”
Everything led up 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 home to Monte-Carlo on Monday, more than three years after they met at a Monaco bar during 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 only at the bar that evening because he was injured, struggling with a stress fracture in his foot.
When they arrived at the local airport, Vacherot’s family members and closest friends from high school surprised him. On Tuesday when they went for lunch, three people stopped Vacherot after watching what he had accomplished in Shanghai. There was also a celebration 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 hit either of us fully, what actually has happened,” Snyder said. “And obviously the fact that it was [with] his cousin too, it just makes it even crazier. And the entire time it was routine after routine. Val was supposed to go play five Challengers after Shanghai, which obviously that’s not the case now.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Casper Ruud recovered quickly from a shaky start on Wednesday, producing a polished serving display to secure victory on his return to the BNP Paribas Nordic Open in Stockholm.
The second seed opened his campaign at the indoor hard-court ATP 250 with a 7-6(2), 6-4 win against the big-hitting Marin Cilic. After falling behind 1-4 in the opening set, Ruud found his rhythm with commanding serves and trademark movement to improve his season record in opening rounds to 14-3.
Striking hot in Stockholm 🔥@bnppnordicopen | #bnppnordicopen | @CasperRuud98 pic.twitter.com/iEs9Su9W1q
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 15, 2025
“It was a good match, I’m very happy,” said Ruud, who improved to 4-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Cilic. “Marin is a great player, very aggressive. He got a better start than me, so I just tried to get my form and rhythm back into the match. I’m really happy with the win.”
Despite his early deficit, Ruud soon took control from the baseline, combining precise groundstrokes with dominant serving to turn the match around. He held serve to love in four straight games in the first set and won all 12 first-serve points in the second, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
Ruud’s one-hour, 50-minute triumph provided a boost to his bid to reach the Nitto ATP Finals for the fourth time. The 2022 runner-up at the season finale is 11th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. In the quarter-finals, he will face Sebastian Korda.
Korda earlier overcame Kamil Majchrzak 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 in a thrilling two-hour, 33-minute contest. The American dropped just four of 28 points on serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats, in the final set to earn his 100th hard-court win, becoming the fifth player born in the 2000s to do so.
In first-round action on Wednesday, Lorenzo Sonego kickstarted his quest for a second indoor title by defeating British qualifier Arthur Fery 6-4, 6-2. Sonego set a second-round meeting with Aleksandar Kovecevic, who led eighth seed Camilo Ugo Carabelli 4-6, 7-5, 4-0 when the Argentine was forced to retire through injury.
Marton Fucsovics eased past Jesper de Jong 6-1, 6-2 to book a clash with top seed and 2022 Stockholm champion Holger Rune.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]The BNP Paribas Fortis European Open may have relocated from Antwerp to Brussels for the 2025 edition, but that won’t stop Jiri Lehecka in his title quest on the indoor hard courts.
The third seed and last year’s finalist opened his campaign on Wednesday with a classy 6-3, 6-2 win against #NextGenATP Belgian Gilles Arnaud Bailly to reach the quarter-finals. Lehecka slammed 11 aces en route to a 27th hard-court victory of the season — the fifth-most on the ATP Tour.
W🌎RLD CLASS
No.3 seed @jirilehecka impresses in a 6-3 6-2 victory over [Q] Bailly @BNPPFEUOpen | #BNPPFEuropeanOpen pic.twitter.com/fJEaJi6QgS
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 15, 2025
“Last year, this tournament was a good success for me,” said Lehecka, who is now 5-1 at the Belgian ATP 250 event, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. “I’m very happy to be here in front of the Belgian fans and I’m happy with my performance today.”
Bailly, 18, claimed his maiden ATP Tour win against Daniel Altmaier on Tuesday and rose five spots to 10th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah. However, he was unable to contain the World No. 17 Lehecka, who is competing just one place below his career-high No. 16.
Into his seventh tour-level quarter-final of the season, Lehecka will next face Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi, who accelerated past countryman Valentin Royer 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-1.
Qualifiers Yannick Hanfmann and Nikoloz Basilashvili, who are tied with Ethan Quinn for the most successful qualifications (8) on the ATP Tour this season, both booked their spots in the second round of the main draw on Wednesday. Hanfmann rallied past Matteo Arnaldi 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4 to set a meeting with top seed Lorenzo Musetti, while Basilashvili brushed off Quentin Halys 6-4, 6-4.
Damir Dzumhur advanced to a clash with second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime after moving past #NextGenATP wild card Federico Cina 6-7(5), 6-2, 7-6(3). The 18-year-old Cina is, however, 14th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah and still has an outside shot at debuting at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF in Jeddah in December.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]World number one Carlos Alcaraz says players are misunderstood when they want to play in exhibition tournaments despite criticising the demanding tour schedule.
Third seed Flavio Cobolli earned victory on his Almaty Open debut Wednesday, when he moved past Rinky Hijikata 6-4, 7-5 to end his brief losing run on the Tour.
After defeating Andrey Rublev in Beijing, the Italian suffered consecutive defeats, falling to Learner Tien at the ATP 500 and then Jaume Munar in Shanghai. However, he looked close to his best against Hijikata, striking 21 winners and committing just seven unforced errors to advance to the quarter-finals after 79 minutes.
Cobolli has enjoyed a standout year, winning titles in Hamburg and Bucharest. The 23-year-old is currently No. 22 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings but would return to the Top 20 with a title run in Almaty, where he will next face James Duckworth.
Australian qualifier Duckworth upset seventh seed and last year’s finalist Gabriel Diallo 7-6(3), 6-7(3), 6-4 for the biggest win of his season. The World No. 138 did not face a break point en route to his win, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
Earlier, Shintaro Mochizuki defeated Arthur Cazaux 6-4, 6-4 to earn his third tour-level win of the season. The 22-year-old is up three spots to No. 99 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and will hope to break the Top 100 for the first time. He will next play fourth seed Luciano Darderi.
Alex Michelsen snapped a five-match losing streak to reach the second round. The American, who had not won a match since Cincinnati in August, downed Beibit Zhukayev 6-2, 6-3 and will next meet Aleksandar Vukic.
“I am pleased with my level,” Michelsen said. “He is a dangerous player, has a big serve. I am super happy to get the win and super happy to be in Almaty for the first time.”
Jan-Lennard Struff also advanced, clawing past Mackenzie McDonald 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. The German struck 25 winners to improve to 2-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series against the American. Struff will next face top seed and defending champion Karen Khachanov. Frenchman Corentin Moutet eliminated home favourite Alexander Shevchenko 7-5, 6-3. Moutet was a semi-finalist last month in Hangzhou.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Karen Khachanov, Daniil Medvedev, and Flavio Cobolli joined Kazakhstan’s Alexander Shevchenko and Beibit Zhukayev on Monday to inaugurate the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation’s new Alatau International Tennis Complex in Almaty.
The facility is located in Almaty’s growing Alatau district and is designed to support both elite and grassroots tennis. It features 14 courts, including indoor and outdoor hard and clay surfaces, alongside a gym, medical centre, cafe, and conference hall. The centre can host up to 500 athletes daily and meets international standards for ITF and ATF-level tournaments.
The opening drew a large crowd of fans and junior players and featured performances by a local band, along with a symbolic tree-planting ceremony by the players.
Almaty Mayor Darkhan Satybaldy and KTF President Bulat Utemuratov also attended the event.
“The new tennis centre has become an important sports facility for the growing Alatau district of our city,” said Satybaldy. “It will serve as a platform for training young athletes and for hosting national and international competitions. This not only raises Almaty’s prestige in the eyes of the global sports community but also contributes to the city’s continued development.”
Built with support from the KTF, the Alatau center is the 39th tennis facility constructed in the country since 2007. In total, the Federation has overseen the development of 291 courts nationwide, backed by more than $200 million in private investment over the past 18 years.
Beyond professional training, the complex will offer free programmes for children from low-income families, as well as discounts for large families and pensioners. The site is also fully accessible for people with limited mobility, and all training will be led by certified coaches.
“Investments in infrastructure help make tennis an accessible sport for a wide range of citizens nation,” said KTF President Utemuratov. “The Alatau Tennis Centre is an example of how sports can become a mass movement when world-class conditions are created. Today, more than 30,000 children in Kazakhstan play tennis on a regular basis. One of our key strategic goals is to continue expanding participation and promoting a healthy lifestyle among all citizens.”
The launch of the Alatau Tennis Complex marks another step in Kazakhstan’s continued rise in world tennis, with a dual focus on developing top-level talent and expanding participation across all levels of society.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]British number three Katie Boulter wins only four games as she is knocked out of the Japan Open by Sorana Cirstea.