It is time to hear the thwack of cow gut on fuzz covered rubber once again, as the ATP Masters 1000 finally rolls back into town after a three year COVID break, and the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena courts are once again graced with the best 96 players in the world.
Here is the lowdown on the 2023 Rolex Shanghai Masters, which is underway and runs until October 15.
The Masters 1000 Series
The tournament is the eighth leg of the nine-leg ATP World Tour Masters 1000, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America and – as of Shanghai 2009 – Asia.
The series constitutes the most prestigious tournaments in men's tennis after the four Grand Slam events and the ATP World Tour Finals.
How It Works
2014 & 2017 Rolex Shanghai Masters Champion – and crowd favorite – Roger Federer
The 96 best singles players in the world will descend on Shanghai, with all top ATP Ranking players automatically entered and obliged to compete.
Those 96 are made up of 79 direct acceptance players, 12 qualifiers, and five wildcards, with the main draw of the tournament spead out over a 12 day period.
Every round is a straight up best-of-three-set knockout, with the 16 top seeds joining in the second round.
That not enough for you? There is also a 32-team doubles competition.
Player Pedigree
Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, making his Shanghai debut as number one seed
Sadly, world number one and four-time Shanghai Champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia has dropped out, as has big name Rafael Nadal of Spain.
His fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz is here though, making his Shanghai debut as number one seed.
As is Russia's Daniil Medvedev, seeded number two, who won the Rolex Shanghai Masters the last time it took place back in 2019. They both play their first matches today.
Russia's Daniil Medvedev, who won the Rolex Shanghai Masters the last time it took place back in 2019
Holger Rune of Denmark, Norwegian Casper Ruud, Italy's Jannik Sinner and Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece are also among the field, as is Alexander Zverev of Germany.
Points
It is named the ATP Masters 1000 as that is how many ATP rankings points the winner is awarded, with a sliding scale down from there for the losing finalist, semi-finalists and so on – a player losing in the first round earning a modest 10 points.
The eight players with the most ATP ranking points at the end of the year qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals in Turin, Italy, so those points are no small incentive.
That and the small matter of a USD8.8million prize money purse...
Prize Money
Total prize money for the 2023 Rolex Shanghai Masters is a whopping USD8,800,000 (RMB64.25 million).
The singles champion will earn US$1,262,220, while even a player bowing out in the first round will earn US$18,660.
The doubles champion team will earn US$436,730, while a team losing in the first round receives US$18,020.
Venue & Courts
The hard court surfaces of the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena are where all the action unfolds, with matches played in outdoor conditions.
Faster than clay, but not as fast as grass, hard courts are generally accepted to give quick, hard-hitting players a slight advantage.
But it is only slight, making for the most open, hard-to-call competitions on the circuit.
Fun Fact: The arena has a steel retractable roof, with eight sliding petal-shaped pieces resembling a blooming magnolia, Shanghai's city flower.
Tournament Director
When it comes to organizing major international sporting events in China, Michael Luevano is the man.
Tournament director of the Rolex Shanghai Masters, he also oversees the F1 Chinese Grand Prix, equestrian Global Champions Tour and annual AFL game.
Oh, and he’s put on Shanghai shows for Elton John, Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones for good measure.
We sat down with him for an overarching interview back in 2020, click the link below to read it...
READ MORE: Michael Luevano, Tournament Director of the Rolex Shanghai Masters
2023 Shanghai Rolex Masters, until Oct 15.
Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena, 5500 Yuanjiang Lu, by Kunyang Lu, Minhang District 马桥镇元江路5500号, 近昆阳路.
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