The magic of Monaco: Valentin Vacherot’s storybook journey leads to historic tour | ATP Tour

Shanghai
The Magic of Monaco: Vacherot’s Storybook Journey Takes a Historic Tour
Vaccello is the first Monegasque player to win an ATP Tour singles title
October 13, 2025
Rolex Shanghai Masters
Valentin Vacherot celebrated his victory in Shanghai while holding the flag of his native Monaco.
Greg Shaco
For Mélanie-Antoinette Demasi, president of the Monaco Tennis Federation, the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters and the Monte-Carlo Country Club, participating in the Rolex Shanghai Masters is an unforgettable trip to the world.
De Massey and Rolex Monte Carlo Masters Director David Massey arrived in Shanghai at noon on Friday after a 20-hour journey from Monaco.
Demasi sat with Messi in Valentin Vacherote’s guest box on Saturday to watch her compatriot beat four-time Rolex Shanghai Masters champion and world No. 5 Novak Djokovic. Twenty-four hours later, Demasi returned to Vaccello’s box to witness history being made as the 26-year-old fought back from a set down to beat his cousin Arthur Lindeknech 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 to become the first Monegasque player in the Open era to win an ATP Tour singles title.
“I’m very, very proud of him and there are really no words in my head that can describe how I felt throughout the game,” Demasi said. “He played really well and had a great match. We saw some amazing scores, great tennis and I’m happy to be here. I’m happy to have this moment with him and to see this historic final.”
Demasi’s phone has been flooded with messages from well-wishers back home and requests for interviews. Prince Albert II of Monaco, an avid tennis fan, followed Vaccello’s historic performance in Shanghai closely and sent Demasi messages before and during the championship match.
During the final, Demasi said she received several WhatsApp messages from Prince Albert II, who later spoke to her along with Vaccello.
“We talked for 10 to 15 minutes after the game and he was very excited, and then Prince Albert and Val talked for about 10 minutes,” said Demasi, who received nearly 100 messages after the final. “He was very touched by Val’s remarks at the award ceremony and was proud of Val’s achievements. The prince was interviewed by local media and congratulated the federation on its work. The whole country is proud.”
David Massey and Melanie-Antoinette de Massy support Vacherot in Shanghai. Photo: Rolex Shanghai Masters.
Monte Carlo Country Club hosted a watch party attended by members and many of Monaco’s top junior players. The market starts at 10:30 am with the race shown on a large screen organized by the Monaco City Hall, similar to the situation at the Monte Carlo Formula 1 race.
“I turn on my phone, but I haven’t really looked at anything yet,” Vacherote said. “I can’t wait to watch the video, especially at the Monte Carlo Country Club. I know they have a big watch party. Because it’s Sunday and everyone is off work, I think that’s probably the day with the most people.”
Shortly after the final, Vaccello draped the Monaco flag over his shoulders before the awards ceremony began. He reflected on his historic achievement and what it meant to his country.
“Just raising the flag and being able to do that for my country, of course, is unrealistic,” said Vacherote, who climbed from No. 204 to No. 40 in the PIF ATP rankings. “I was just thinking about our little federation, our little country, one of the smallest countries in the world. Probably the smallest federation. We have this federation, we don’t have a lot of players and now we have a Masters 1000 singles title, two Masters 1000 doubles titles with Hugo Nice – who had a Grand Slam final two years ago at the Australian Open – what we have achieved for Monaco is unbelievable. I hope we can make everyone proud of us and I hope to keep going.”
Nice is currently ranked 19th in doubles and rose to a career-high ranking of 12th in June 2023. He won his biggest championship that year at the ATP Masters 1000 in Rome and reached the 2023 Australian Open final. Roman Arneodo has won two doubles titles this season and is ranked No. 45 in doubles after reaching a career-high No. 38 in August.
At the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters in early April this year, French-born Monaco player Arneodo made history by winning the doubles championship with French player Manuel Guinard. Arneodo became the first Monegasque player to win the Monte Carlo doubles title.
“It’s absolutely extraordinary for Monaco, we’ve never had a Monaco-born player in the top 100 in singles,” Demasi said. “As Valentin said at the end of the semi-final match – and I really appreciate him doing that – remind everyone that in tennis there are singles, but there are also doubles, and we have great doubles players. In Monaco we love playing Davis Cup because we love being a team, we love being with the Monaco Tennis Federation and really Monaco tennis as a whole, whether it’s a tournament or a tennis match. The federation, or the clubs – are one big family.”
Half-brother and coach Benjamin Balleret instilled in Valentin the belief that he would crack the top 100 and then take it to the next level.
“When we set goals for Val, it wasn’t just to be in the top 100, because that seems a little bit like, ‘Oh, for some people, we just want to be in the top 100,'” said Balleret, who had a career-high ranking of No. 204 in 2006. “No, it’s like, ‘Let’s go. We want to be top 50, top 30.’ You have more, even more ambition. So our role as coaches and all the team is to support him and push him and tell him that he believes he can be a top 50 player. Because I think a lot of players don’t believe that anymore.”