Arthur Gea beats Ben Shelton (No. 3) 7-6(5), 7-6(3) in the third round of the Shanghai Masters on Sunday 11 October, the first win of his career over a top-10 player. He is the last Frenchman left in the draw, with Quentin Halys, Adrian Mannarino and Arthur Fils all knocked out in the same round.
Tennis
Roland-Garros, Wimbledon, the Australian Open and the US Open, the ATP and WTA tours and the players to watch.
Arthur Gea beats Ugo Humbert (No. 30) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 in the second round of the Shanghai Masters on Friday 9 October, and Adrian Mannarino knocks out Flavio Cobolli (No. 6) 6-1, 4-6, 6-3. Quentin Halys also goes through after saving two match points against Alexander Blockx, and Arthur Fils (No. 8) joins them on Saturday by beating Pavel Kotov 6-3, 6-4: four Frenchmen are in the last 32.
Jannik Sinner has withdrawn from the Shanghai Masters, played from Wednesday 7 to Sunday 18 October 2026: Alexander Zverev is the top seed, ahead of Carlos Alcaraz. Seven Frenchmen are in the draw, led by Arthur Fils (No. 8), and Ugo Humbert could face Arthur Gea in his opening match.
France play for their place in the Davis Cup Final 8 on Friday and Saturday in Quebec City, and they play it without their best player: Arthur Fils has withdrawn. Paul-Henri Mathieu takes Arthur Rinderknech, Benjamin Bonzi, Quentin Halys, Luca Van Assche and Pierre-Hugues Herbert to face Felix Auger-Aliassime's Canada.
Two days, two heavy falls. After Novak Djokovic on Sunday, Arthur Fils goes out at the first hurdle, beaten by a Stefanos Tsitsipas who had never got the better of him. Carlos Alcaraz, meanwhile, picked his season back up, and three French players reach the second round.
The opening day of the main draw served up the biggest shock Flushing Meadows had to offer: Novak Djokovic is out at the first hurdle. Among the French, Arthur Rinderknech and Luca Van Assche go through, rain pushed five matches into the next day, and neither Carlos Alcaraz nor Arthur Fils plays before Monday.
The draw for the season's last Grand Slam was made on Thursday at Flushing Meadows. It is defined by one major absentee, world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, and by a brutal opening match for the leading Frenchman, Arthur Fils. The tournament starts on Sunday 30 August.