Arthur Rinderknech and Valentin Vacherot’s journey from college tennis to Shanghai final | ATP Tour

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Rinderknech and Vacherot’s journey from college tennis to Shanghai finals

ATPTour.com Exclusive Interview with Texas A&M Head Coach Steve Denton

October 12, 2025

In 2018, the Texas A&M University men’s tennis team lost 4-3 to Wake Forest University in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament. Arthur Rinderknech singled to second for A&M, while his cousin, Valentin Vacherot, singled to fourth. They played side by side on that difficult day that marked the end of Lindeknech’s illustrious collegiate tennis career.

Two-time Australian Open finalist head coach Steve Denton still remembers what Lindekneich said to him after that loss.

“When Arthur left to try and play [professionally]I remember him saying to me, ‘Steve, make sure you take care of my cousin like you take care of me,'” Denton told ATPTour.com. “I said, ‘Of course, I’m going to do that.’ ”

Denton has always maintained a good relationship with the cousins, who will compete for ATP Masters 1000 glory in the Rolex Shanghai Masters final on Sunday. They each defeated the former No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings in the semifinals – Lindknech eliminated Daniil Medvedev and Vaccello defeated Novak Djokovic.

“This is a dream come true for these two guys,” Denton said. “Obviously, they probably didn’t go that far unless you’re a guy like [Jannik] sinner and [Carlos] Alcaraz, a lot of players have to go through all of these things to get to where they are now. “

The college coach has been waking up in the middle of the night to watch his former players play in China. It was an exciting experience for Denton, who wanted to travel to Shanghai for the finals. However, when the former Aggies played in the championship game, no flights arrived on time.

“I went to bed last night and realized there was no way Valentin Vaccello could beat Novak Djokovic,” Denton said. “Arthur played very well, he was very confident, but Medvedev is still a former world No. 1 player and for Arthur to win that match and then play each other in the final, it’s just an amazing story.”

When Lindeknech was a junior, Denton traveled to France to watch three or four players and gauge his interest in them. After watching Arthur for two minutes, the former world No. 12 singles player and No. 2 doubles player knew which player he wanted.

When Lindeknech first arrived on Texas A&M’s campus, the Frenchman was unable to play for a year because he was ineligible. The character he displayed that year impressed the longtime coach.

“It was painful for him to watch other people play,” Denton said. “I think the pain that he went through really helped him in a lot of ways and made him this selfless leader.”

For Rinderknech, in an individual sport, the team is the most important. Fast forward to Saturday, and he lost the first set of his semifinal match against Medvedev. Coming off a career-best performance against the 2019 Shanghai champion, the 30-year-old is not entirely focused on winning the match at this point, but instead trying to help tire Medvedev so he will be exhausted in Sunday’s final against his cousin.

“That’s the kind of kid he is. He’s been a team player for us,” Denton said. “He’s a team player and throughout that match he was thinking, ‘Well, if I don’t win, maybe I can stay here and give Val a better chance and take Medvedev’s legs off him a little bit’. That’s what they all thought. They’re both very humble. They’re both very team-oriented and obviously more importantly, they’re more family-oriented.”

That was a big reason why Vaccello ultimately chose to play at Texas A&M, even though Denton didn’t know early on that Lindekneich had a cousin, let alone such a good tennis player.

“After the first year, he and I developed a good relationship and he liked it here and I think he thought, ‘Well, this is a great place for my cousin and I’m going to take care of him and I’m going to make sure he’s here,'” Denton said. “That’s just the way it is.”

The two overlapped for two seasons, helping the show reach its peak. Compared to Vaccello, who is “quite conservative”, Lindeknech is more confident and outgoing. But both men proved to be great leaders, just in their own style. Watching their dramatic breakthrough from a distance was special.

“You tell young players and their families that you’re going to take care of them and you’re going to help them try to play professional tennis,” Denton said. “So by doing that, you have to stay in their game. And I’ve been in their game from the beginning, and as long as they want me to help them, I’m happy to do that.”

Although Denton won’t be in Shanghai, he’s eager to watch early Sunday morning in Texas to watch his Aggies play their second ATP Masters 1000 final against the most former collegiate tennis player in the series’ history (since 1990). Mikael Pennforth (Georgia) defeated Todd Martin (Northwestern) in the 1993 Canadian final.

“There are a lot of exciting stories about tennis, but I think the stories at this time are as good as the stories from this year,” Denton said. “What’s exciting to me is that these two guys are basically telling the rest of the world that college tennis is a clear path to the tour.”