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2025 Shanghai Challenger
September 1 - September 7
Last Updated on September 7, 2025
The 2025 Shanghai Challenger, also known as the “Road to the Rolex Shanghai Masters,” was a professional men’s tennis tournament on the ATP Challenger Tour. The event, which was the 12th edition of the tournament, was a Challenger 100 event and featured a total prize fund of US$160,000. It was held on outdoor hard courts in Shanghai, China, and took place from August 31 to September 7, 2025.1“Shanghai Challenger Overview”. atptour.com. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
The tournament served as a key lead-up event to the prestigious Rolex Shanghai Masters, an ATP Tour Masters 1000 event, which is scheduled to take place later in the year. The “Road to the Rolex Shanghai Masters” moniker highlights its role in the Asian Swing of the tennis season.
Giulio Zeppieri of Italy won the men’s singles title, defeating Yasutaka Uchiyama of Japan. This was Zeppieri’s first ATP title of 2025.
Tournament Details
| Date | 1–7 September |
| Edition | 12th |
| Draw | 32 Singles / 16 Doubles |
| Category | Challenger 100 |
| Prize Money | US$160,000 |
| Surface | Hard |
| Location | Shanghai, China |
| Venue | Qi Zhong Tennis Centre |
Tournament Links
| ATP Tournament Profile | ||
| Results | Draws | Schedule |
Champions
| Event | Champion(s) | Runner(s)-up |
| Men’s Singles | 🇮🇹 Giulio Zeppieri | 🇯🇵 Yasutaka Uchiyama |
| 7–6(7–2), 7–5 | ||
| Men’s Doubles | 🇹🇭 Pruchya Isaro 🇮🇳 Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha |
🇹🇼 Jason Jung 🇺🇸 Reese Stalder |
| 6–4, 6–7(2–7), [10–8] | ||
Singles Main Draw Entrants
The tournament’s singles draw features a field of players vying for the title and valuable ranking points. The seeded players for the 2025 Shanghai Challenger were determined by the ATP rankings as of August 25, 2025.
Seeds
- Dan Evans (Great Britain)
- Yosuke Watanuki (Japan)
- Yoshihito Nishioka (Japan)
- Bernard Tomic (Australia)
- James McCabe (Australia)
- Beibit Zhukayev (Kazakhstan)
- Hsu Yu-hsiou (Chinese Taipei)
- Sho Shimabukuro (Japan)
Other Entrants
The main draw also includes wild card entrants, players who received entry through the Next Gen Accelerator Programme, and qualifiers from the qualifying rounds.
- Wildcards: Cui Jie, Te Rigele, Xiao Linang
- Next Gen Accelerator Programme: Zhou Yi
- Alternates: Arthur Géa
- Qualifiers: Huang Tsung-hao, Kokoro Isomura, Filip Peliwo, Kasidit Samrej, Renta Tokuda, Zeng Yaojie
- Lucky Loser: Petr Bar Biryukov (replaces a withdrawn player from the qualifying draw)
Champions
- Singles: To be determined
- Doubles: To be determined
Prize Money and Ranking Points
As a Challenger 100 event, the 2025 Shanghai Challenger offers a significant number of ATP ranking points and a substantial prize pool. The total prize money for the tournament is $160,000. The breakdown of prize money and points for the singles competition is as follows:
Singles
| Result | Prize Money | Ranking Points |
| Champion | $22,730 | 100 |
| Runner-up | $13,350 | 50 |
| Semifinalists | $7,960 | 25 |
| Quarterfinalists | $4,620 | 14 |
| Round of 16 | $2,695 | 7 |
| Round of 32 | $1,670 | 0 |
| Qualifier | $0 | 4 |
Doubles
| Result | Prize Money | Ranking Points |
| Champion | $7,960 | 100 |
| Runner-up | $4,600 | 60 |
| Semifinalists | $2,760 | 36 |
| Quarterfinalists | $1,620 | 20 |
| Round of 16 | $930 | 0 |
Tournament History
The Shanghai Challenger, under its official title “Road to the Rolex Shanghai Masters,” has a rich history as a pivotal stop on the ATP Challenger Tour. The tournament was established in 2011 and has since been a key event for players seeking to gain valuable ranking points and momentum for the subsequent ATP Tour events in Asia.
Historically, the tournament has been a stepping stone for rising talents and a comeback platform for experienced players. Notable past champions include Sho Shimabukuro, who won the 2024 singles title, and Christopher O’Connell, who claimed the championship in 2023.
The event has seen a steady increase in prize money and status, evolving from a $50,000 tournament in its early years to a $160,000 Challenger 100 in 2025, reflecting its growing importance on the tour. The tournament was not held from 2020 to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making its return in 2023 a significant moment for the Asian tennis calendar.
Tournament Venue: Qi Zhong Tennis Centre
The 2025 Shanghai Challenger is held at the prestigious Qi Zhong Tennis Centre, a state-of-the-art facility located in the Minhang District of Shanghai. The centre is most famous for being the main venue of the Rolex Shanghai Masters, an ATP Masters 1000 event.
The most striking feature of the complex is its main stadium, the Qi Zhong Forest Sports City Arena. This arena has a seating capacity of approximately 13,800 and is renowned for its unique retractable roof. The roof, which consists of eight massive steel panels, is designed to look like a blooming magnolia, Shanghai’s official city flower. It can open or close in just eight minutes, allowing for matches to be played in any weather condition.
Built in 2005 to host the Tennis Masters Cup (the precursor to the ATP Finals), the Qi Zhong Tennis Centre is a world-class facility that includes multiple courts, both indoor and outdoor, and is equipped with advanced technology like the Hawk-Eye system and a modern LED lighting system. The venue’s innovative design and excellent facilities have earned it a reputation as one of the best tennis stadiums in the world.