Former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba is among several sporting greats who have invested in E1 Series, a globe-trotting powerboat racing competition about to land in Africa.
Emma Raducanu again fails to take three match points as she is beaten by Jessica Pegula in a hard-fought last-32 match at the China Open.
Carlos Alcaraz faced perhaps the sternest examination of his debut run at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships on Monday, but he emerged with flying colours to book his spot in the final.
The No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings overcame a resilient Casper Ruud and his own fitness concerns to secure a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory at the ATP 500 event. Alcaraz, who displayed limited movement at times during the opening set, eventually rediscovered his sharpness to set up a title showdown with former Tokyo champion Taylor Fritz.
“I had a lot of chances in the first set,” said Alcaraz. “I had four break points if I’m not wrong. It’s just about details, so I just tried to be more positive than the first set. I was a little bit mad with myself, so I just tried to play with joy again, putting a lot of positive thoughts in my mind.”
With his two-hour, eight-minute victory, Alcaraz notched his personal-best 66th win in a season. On Tuesday, the 22-year-old Spaniard will seek revenge against Fritz, who defeated him at the Laver Cup last week.
“I know he’s playing great tennis lately,” Alcaraz said of Fritz, who also defeated Alexander Zverev in San Francisco. “Since the Laver Cup against me, against Zverev, and here in this tournament, he’s feeling great and really comfortable on the court. Everything is different since San Francisco… But it’s another challenge for me and I’m looking forward to it.”
Since tweaking his left ankle in his Tokyo opener against Sebastian Baez, Alcaraz had downplayed concerns and proved it with assertive wins. Yet against Ruud, who tested him relentlessly with heavy topspin and court-stretching angles, the Spaniard’s discomfort was more apparent.
Facing break point in the seventh game, Ruud attacked with a deep approach into Alcaraz’s backhand corner. Though he got the ball back at his opponent’s feet, Alcaraz hesitated when stretching for that ball and chasing the ensuing drop volley — a moment of vulnerability that underscored his struggles in the first set.
Watch Alcaraz struggle to deal with Ruud on break point:
Alcaraz’s aggressive, risk-heavy tactics in the first set yielded 15 unforced errors, but he recalibrated in the second, finding consistency on serve: He dropped just four of 24 points behind his delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to overwhelm Ruud and level the match.
From there, Alcaraz carried that momentum into the deciding set, where he showcased his freedom of movement and fearless shotmaking, silencing any injury doubts. To overcome Fritz in the final, however, the Spaniard will need another commanding serving performance against one of the Tour’s most formidable servers.
Despite defeat, Ruud has risen two spots to 11th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin as the former finalist seeks to return to the Nitto ATP Finals.
Earlier on Monday, Fritz powered his way into the final by serving his way past countryman Jenson Brooksby 6-4, 6-3. Though outplayed at times from the baseline, Fritz compensated for 13 aces to secure his first hard-court final of 2025 and climb to fifth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin.
“Honestly, just by botting,” Fritz said when asked how he was able to triumph. “I served insanely well: High percentage first serves and spots too. It felt like any game that I didn’t hit three aces, he was really outplaying me from the baseline. I was able to hang in on my serve, and then capitalise on that scoreboard pressure. My serve got me through it.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]The Rolex Shanghai Masters in Shanghai, China, which this year runs 1-12 October, has announced a prize money total of US $9,193,540 for the 2025 edition.
The singles champion will earn US $1,124,380, and the winning doubles team will split US $457,150. View the full prize-money breakdown and the PIF ATP Rankings points at stake below.
2025 Rolex Shanghai Masters Singles Prize Money
| Rounds | Points | Prize Money |
| Winner | 1000 | $1,124,380 |
| Finalist | 600 | $597,890 |
| Semi-finalist | 400 | $332,160 |
| Quarter-finalist | 200 | $189,075 |
| Round of 16 | 100 | $103,225 |
| Round of 32 | 50 | $60,400 |
| Round of 64 | 30 | $35,260 |
| Round of 96 | 10 | $23,760 |
2025 Rolex Shanghai Masters Doubles Prize Money
| Rounds | Points | Prize Money |
| Winner | 1000 | $457,150 |
| Finalist | 600 | $242,020 |
| Semi-finalist | 360 | $129,970 |
| Quarter-finalist | 180 | $65,000 |
| Round of 16 | 90 | $34,850 |
| Round of 32 | 0 | $19,050 |
Novak Djokovic is on a semi-final collision course with World No. 2 and defending champion Jannik Sinner following the release of the Rolex Shanghai Masters draw Monday.
Djokovic, who fell to the Italian in the semi-finals of Roland Garros and Wimbledon this season, returns to competition for the first time since losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the US Open semi-finals.
View Draw
[ATP APP]The fourth-seeded Serbian and four-time Shanghai champion will play the winner of Frenchman Corentin Moutet and Marin Cilic in his opening match. He is seeded to meet Frances Tiafoe in the third round, Andrey Rublev in the fourth round and Ben Shelton or Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals.
Djokovic, No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings, is 31-11 on the year according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss index after reaching all four Grand Slam semi-finals this season.
Sinner, who leads Djokovic 6-4 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series and beat the 40-time ATP Masters 1000 champion in last year’s Shanghai final, opens against German Daniel Altmaier or a qualifier. The former No. 1 is seeded to meet Tallon Griekspoor in the third round, Alexander Bublik in the fourth round and Taylor Fritz or Holger Rune in the quarter-finals.
In the top half, World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz is seeded to meet Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals. But first he will focus on an opening match against American teen Learner Tien and Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic. He is seeded to meet Cameron Norrie in the third round, Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round and Alex de Minaur or Karen Khachanov in the quarter-finals.
Zverev leads the second quarter of the draw and opens against a qualifier or Argentine Mariano Navone.
Main draw action begins Wednesday. The final is scheduled for Sunday, 12 October.
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Carlos Alcaraz beats Brandon Nakashima to move into the Japan Open semi-finals as Coco Gauff reaches the last 16 of the China Open.
Daniil Medvedev’s 2025 campaign has been anything but smooth, yet if there is a stage where his fortunes might shift, it could well be the China Open.
The 29-year-old brushed aside Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3, 6-3 on Sunday afternoon in Beijing, sealing his spot in a third straight quarter-final at the ATP 500 event. Though Medvedev stands with a modest 29-19 record this year by his lofty standards, the 2023 finalist remains focused on rediscovering the edge that once carried him to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings.
“Maybe the feeling of the game, the general awareness [which I have been] lacking lately,” Medvedev reflected when asked what qualities he would borrow from his 2023 self. “I’m trying to get that back, and that’s also why I’m happy today. To win many return games, you need to react fast on the return, run faster on the next shot. Everything needs to be better, but it’s not too bad.”
After his first-round defeat at the US Open last month, Medvedev parted ways with his coach of eight years, Gilles Cervara, and has now been working with Thomas Johansson and Rohan Goetzke. Competing as the World No. 18 — his lowest mark since January 2019 — Medvedev will next meet second seed Alexander Zverev or Corentin Moutet in Beijing.
Medvedev, the former Nitto ATP Finals champion, is up one spot to 21st in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, but he could jump as high as 14th if he captures the title in Beijing. It would mark his first trophy since the 2023 ATP Masters 1000 in Rome.
Quarter-final bound ✈️@DaniilMedwed flies past Davidovich Fokina 6-3 6-3 to return to the final eight in Beijing.@chinaopen | #2025ChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/jEgDJCtlrt
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 28, 2025
Earlier, fourth seed Lorenzo Musetti continued to bounce back from his Chengdu final heartbreak by setting a Beijing quarter-final meeting with #NextGenATP Learner Tien.
Musetti, who is seventh in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, moved past qualifier Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-3 to strengthen his push for a maiden Nitto ATP Finals qualification. The 19-year-old Tien upset Flavio Cobolli 6-3, 6-2 to reach his fifth ATP Tour quarter-final (0-4).
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Carlos Alcaraz maintained his seamless debut campaign at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships on Sunday, where he eased past Brandon Nakashima to reach the last four.
The No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings produced a stunning serving display and plenty of crowd-pleasing moments in a 6-2, 6-4 night-session triumph in Tokyo. Alcaraz powered 25 winners past Nakashima with his forehand alone to march into his ninth consecutive tour-level semi-final. With his Tour-leading 65th match win of the season, the 22-year-old Alcaraz equalled his personal-best tally in a single season (set in 2023).
A forehand from another planet 🚀@carlosalcaraz | @japanopentennis | #kinoshitajotennis pic.twitter.com/wcPkNSnL0d
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 28, 2025
“It’s great to go through, to play another semi-final,” said Alcaraz in his post-match interview. “It’s special because it’s the first time I am playing here in Japan and here in Tokyo, so to reach the semi-finals in my first appearance is something great.”
Even after some of the sublime shotmaking Alcaraz produced in a classy opening-set performance, the Spaniard arguably saved his best for last inside Ariake Coliseum. Having let slip three match points on return at 5-3 in the second set, he reeled off four consecutive winners in the next game to wrap his win with a flourish.
“I always say that closing a match is difficult. Even tougher when you had match points, like I did when I was returning,” said Alcaraz. “Losing that game, I thought it was going to be really difficult, but I just tried to maintain my focus and play some great points in the last game. I don’t think I’ve played a last game like this, so I’m really happy about it.”
Watch: Alcaraz’s Four Consecutive Winners To Wrap Tokyo QF Win:
Now 50-3 since April, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, Alcaraz will take on Casper Ruud for a spot in the championship match. The fourth-seeded Norwegian earlier raced to a 6-3, 6-2 victory against Aleksandar Vukic.
“Probably [it’s the best period of my career]. I’m just feeling great on court, every time I step on the court,” said Alcaraz. “I just think I can do everything. I’m approaching the end of the season with a lot of confidence and these kinds of matches, this kind of level, helps a lot to keep the confidence high.
“I’m just trying to set up goals before matches, before tournaments, and trying to follow those goals. I think that helps me a lot to play great tennis and maintain the focus during the match.”
Alcaraz leads Ruud 4-1 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series, with one of those victories coming in the 2022 US Open final. Yet the Norwegian triumphed in straight sets in the pair’s most recent meeting, at the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals, and he produced a commanding quarter-final win of his own in Tokyo, where he needed just 58 minutes to sink qualifier Vukic.
In the bottom half of the draw, Taylor Fritz and Jenson Brooksby will contest an all-American semi-final. The second-seeded Fritz edged Sebastian Korda 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3. The champion in Tokyo in 2022, Fritz moved one spot above Novak Djokovic to fourth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin by defeating Korda.
The World No. 86 Brooksby notched a 6-3, 6-3 upset of third seed Holger Rune to seal his semi-final spot. With victory in his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash against Rune, the 24-year-old Brooksby improved to 9-1 in ATP Tour quarter-finals.
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