Tennis essentials, 8 October: Zverev set to become No. 1, Djokovic and Alcaraz back in Shanghai, Paquet’s ordeal

The world No. 1 ranking is about to change hands: Jannik Sinner’s season-ending withdrawal will crown Alexander Zverev. In Shanghai, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz return to competition on the back of their Beijing and Tokyo titles.

Zverev, the 30th world No. 1

Without Jannik Sinner, whose knee ended his season early, the tour already knows his successor: Alexander Zverev, the future 30th world No. 1 and the second German after Boris Becker. The crowning can come on 2 November, when the 2025 Paris Masters points drop off, otherwise on 9 November, RMC Sport notes. Winner of Roland Garros and the US Open this season, Zverev has still lost every match he played in 2026 against Sinner, Alcaraz and Djokovic. “Zverev has been the most consistent player, on the court and physically,” Kim Clijsters judged.

Djokovic back in Shanghai, against Hurkacz

Fresh from his Beijing title, the 102nd of his career, Novak Djokovic opens his Shanghai Masters campaign, a tournament he won in 2023. The 39-year-old Serb faces Hubert Hurkacz on Saturday, after the Pole saw off James Duckworth in the first round (6-3, 7-6). A finalist in Chengdu and a semi-finalist in Beijing before retiring hurt, the world No. 34 is coming back from an adductor problem: “I intend to play good tennis against him and get a first win over him,” he promised, relayed by We Love Tennis. Daniil Medvedev, disqualified in the Beijing semi-final, remembers a Djokovic “certainly not far” from his best level.

Alcaraz retains Tokyo and takes aim at the calendar

Beating Jiri Lehecka in the Japan Open final, Carlos Alcaraz claimed his third title of a year in which a wrist injury kept him out for four and a half months. His verdict on the ATP: players are “pushed too much” to play ever more tournaments, a schedule “going in the wrong direction”, in a season when he and Sinner both missed months, Sky Sports reports. He starts in Shanghai on Saturday.

Gauff: the WTA condemns the racist wave

After her defeat by Elise Mertens (6-3, 6-3) in the Beijing last 16 and the racist messages received since her match against China’s Sun Xinran, Coco Gauff has the WTA’s backing, with the tour “appalled by the racist abuse” and reminding that “racism, discrimination and insults have no place in tennis”. “I just turn my phone off and move on,” the world No. 4 reacted, RMC Sport reports.

Chloé Paquet’s nightmare

Two hours after her match in São Paulo, Chloé Paquet collapsed at the airport: 41-degree fever, very low blood pressure, septic shock caused by a bacterium. The Frenchwoman, ranked 320th, spent nine days in hospital, seven of them in intensive care. “The doctor told me it could have gone badly,” she told RMC Sport. Her season is over; she aims to return in December.

Ferrero and Sinner, a rumour that bothers nobody

Speaking to Puntodebreak around the release of his book, Juan Carlos Ferrero does not rule out coaching Jannik Sinner, having taken Carlos Alcaraz to the top: “The fact that I coached Carlos doesn’t mean I can no longer coach his biggest rival,” said the Spaniard, who asks for “a bit of respect” for his future decision. Nothing has been signed; the rumour points to 2027, We Love Tennis reports.

Van Assche out, three Frenchmen waiting in Paris

Luca Van Assche was beaten in his Shanghai opener by China’s Yunchaokete Bu (7-6, 6-3), L’Équipe reports. The same outlet lists the direct entrants for the Rolex Paris Masters (2-8 November): Arthur Fils, Ugo Humbert and Arthur Rinderknech, with Van Assche first on the waiting list. Fils, seventh in the race with a 585-point lead over 10th place, sees his ATP Finals qualification eased by Sinner’s withdrawal.