By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, October 27, 2025
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Arthur Rinderknecht continued his Masters Series success with a winning homecoming in Paris.
The French wild card hit 16 aces in a 7-6(5), 7-6(4) win over Fabian Marozsan in his opening Rolex Paris Masters today.
Buoyed by his run to the final of the Rolex Shanghai Masters earlier this month, where he lost to his cousin, Valentin VacherotRinderknech raised the prospect of a Paris rematch with Vacherot.
If wild card Vacherot beats 14th seed Jiri Lehecka in his opening round, he will face Rinderknech for a second consecutive Masters 1000 event.
This is the first year that the Rolex Paris Masters is being staged at the Paris La Defense Arena after years at the Accor Arena in Paris Bercy.
Asked for his reaction to the new home of the Paris Masters, the 30-year-old Rinderknech said he likes Paris’s biggest new Arena La Defense, but it will never be the same as the tour’s former “mythical” Bercy home.
“It’s different because it will never be the same as Bercy,” Rinderknech said. “Bercy was legendary, thank you
about the history and what happened, but I think the public is the same, the same tennis connoisseurs come to La Defense that went to Bercy, and it’s the same tournament, the same atmosphere, the same colors, the same conditions. But it’s definitely not the same thing.
“But the arena is beautiful. Center court is beautiful. The music and the colors when you walk in are beautiful. For us tennis players, we can’t help but be happy to have these great conditions.”
Rinderknech is one of six Frenchmen in the field after 2024 finalist Ugo Humbert withdrew from the tournament.
Tour Director Cedric Pioline said there are two other key differences between the tournament’s new home at La Defense Arena and its previous home at Accor Arena. The current court conditions are slower and the center court venue is the largest single indoor court in the sport and second only to Arthur Ashe Stadium in terms of seating capacity.
“The surface is slower than last year,” Pioline told the media in Paris. “It was our desire to take it even slower. (The players) seem to be satisfied. We see that the players are quite satisfied. It is important for us.
“In terms of lighting, it’s very good. I think the light especially in the outfield, because they can see that everything is wider, bigger, higher. They can actually make lobs, for example.
“(Carlos Alcaraz’s coach) Juan Carlos Ferrero was talking to me earlier.
the player was training in center court. He was looking for capacity. When I said it’s 17,500 seats, it’s actually the second largest after New York. It’s wonderful. It’s their new playing field, our new home for the Rolex Paris Masters… Maybe there are some issues we won’t be able to do
fix it today, but we’ll be able to do it next year.”
