Tennis: Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev lead field as Carlos Alcaraz pulls out of 2025 ATP Shanghai Masters 1000
by Devesh Jaganath | by Devesh Jaganath
Alcaraz withdraws from 2025 Shanghai Masters
Carlos Alcaraz continued his sensational form in 2025 by clinching his eighth title of the season on Tuesday at the Japan Open by beating American Taylor Fritz in the final and confirming our tennis predictions for the tournament.
Unfortunately, that will also be the last we see of the world number one on the Asian swing, as he suffered an ankle injury in his opening match of the competition against Sebastian Baez, which has forced him to forego the 2025 Shanghai Masters. After his triumph in Japan, Alcaraz said:
“Unfortunately, I've been struggling with some physical issues and, after discussing with my team, we believe the best decision is to rest and recover.”
Despite evidently playing through pain, the 22-year-old still produced a masterful run, dropping only a single set throughout the tournament. Alcaraz lost in the quarter-final in Shanghai last year, as Jannik Sinner went on to secure the title.
Sinner, Zverev installed as favourites, Djokovic returns in Shanghai
Jannik Sinner enters the 2025 Shanghai Masters off the back of beating 19-year-old Learner Tien 6-2, 6-2 in the final of the China Open in Beijing on Wednesday, marking his third title win of the season to date.
With that victory, Sinner moved to 10,950 points in the ATP live rankings, which puts him 590 points behind the world number one coming into Shanghai. Victory here will place him on the heels of the Spaniard, and he could overtake Alcaraz by the time we’re done in Vienna.
According to our experts’ ATP Shanghai Masters 1000 predictions, Sinner is the clear frontrunner to defend his title, but he will have to see off several big names to lift the trophy, such as number two seed Alexander Zverev.
The German is a seven-time champion at this level but is still looking for his first Masters 1000 title of the season. Zverev has had to deal with a few injuries recently, but he is a former finalist at this tournament and could take a huge step toward qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals with a solid run in Shanghai.
Finally, there is no mention of potential title winners without discussing Novak Djokovic, who is returning to action for the first time since the US Open semi-final, where he was defeated by Carlos Alcaraz on September 5. All matches will be covered on our Shanghai Masters livescore tool, so stay tuned.
The Serbian has tasted tremendous success in this part of the world, having won the most matches (39) and the most titles (4) of any player throughout the history of the Shanghai Masters. If Djokovic wins, it will be his first title since November 2023 and 41st Masters 1000 triumph overall.
