{"id":92007,"date":"2025-10-12T09:27:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-12T13:27:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=92007"},"modified":"2025-10-16T11:28:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T15:28:13","slug":"5-lowest-ranked-masters-1000-champions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2025\/10\/12\/5-lowest-ranked-masters-1000-champions\/","title":{"rendered":"The 5 Lowest-Ranked Masters 1000 Champions Ever"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\">Valentin Vacherot made history in Shanghai by becoming the lowest-ranked player ever (World No. 204) to win an ATP Masters 1000 tournament, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2025\/10\/11\/cousins-arthur-rinderknech-and-valentin-vacherot-make-tennis-history\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">defeating his cousin Arthur Rinderknech in the final<\/a>. And although his run was a pure fairytale, seemingly more improbable than any before, he is not the only one to have risen from the trenches to enjoy a dream week in the Masters 1000 format\u2019s history.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the top five lowest-ranked players ever to win a Masters 1000 title.<\/p>\n<h2>The Top 5 Lowest-Ranked Masters 1000 Champions Ever<\/h2>\n<h3>5. Alexei Popyrin \u2014 Montreal 2024<\/h3>\n<p>Ranked No. 62 in the world entering the tournament, the Australian produced the run of a lifetime to capture the 2024 Montreal Open. It all began with a confident first-round win over Tomas Machac, setting the tone for what would become a remarkable week. From that moment on, he never let the momentum slip, displaying a mix of composure and fearless shot-making.<\/p>\n<p>His path only grew tougher as the rounds went on, yet he kept finding answers. He took down Ben Shelton in a serving duel, edged past Grigor Dimitrov and Hubert Hurkacz in tense three-set battles. Saving his best for last, he dismantled Andrey Rublev in the final, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2024\/08\/13\/alexei-popyrin-wins-the-biggest-title-of-his-career\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">sealing an improbable Masters 1000 title run.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a  id=\"UVU1X-4AROBN4I6ZmN2AAg\" class=\"gie-single\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2228569304\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'UVU1X-4AROBN4I6ZmN2AAg',sig:'MZ9yCD43bVg7ZlARL_yWHVl6rz4cbQbK1mBKHTMGUKw=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'2228569304',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>4. Mikael Pernfors \u2014 Montreal 1993<\/h3>\n<p>At No. 95 in the world, Mikael Pernfors arrived in Montreal with little fanfare, but left as one of the most surprising Masters 1000 champions ever. He opened his campaign with a solid win over Mark Kaplan and built momentum with a composed performance against Jason Stoltenberg.<\/p>\n<p>What followed was a streak of giant-killing brilliance, dropping just one set throughout the entire tournament. Pernfors shocked second seed Jim Courier in the third round, then backed it up by outplaying eighth seed Alexander Volkov and sixth seed Petr Korda to reach the final. There, he completed his astonishing run by defeating 13th seed Todd Martin in a three-set classic, sealing a title that no one, perhaps not even he, saw coming.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h3>3. Roberto Carretero \u2014 Hamburg 1996<\/h3>\n<p>Coming through the qualifying rounds to reach the main draw, Roberto Carretero\u2019s 1996 Hamburg campaign was as improbable as it was unforgettable. Virtually unknown on the ATP circuit at the time, he began with a gritty win over fellow Spaniard Jordi Arrese before finding his rhythm against 10th seed MaliVai Washington.<\/p>\n<p>From there, Carretero caught fire. He ousted seventh seed Arnaud Boetsch, edged Gilbert Schaller, and then stunned third seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov, who would go on to win Roland Garros just weeks later. In the final, he defeated compatriot \u00c0lex Corretja in four sets to capture his first and only ATP title. Ranked No. 143, Carretero\u2019s victory remained the most unlikely Masters 1000 triumphs ever recorded, well, until this week at least.<\/p>\n<h3>2. Borna \u0106ori\u0107 \u2014 Cincinnati 2022<\/h3>\n<p>Returning from nearly a year on the sidelines following shoulder surgery, Borna \u0106ori\u0107 arrived in Cincinnati ranked No. 152 and searching for rhythm, but what followed was a week of rediscovery. His only real test came early against Rafael Nadal in the second round, a match where the Spaniard held set points in the opener before \u0106ori\u0107 turned the tide and powered through in three sets.<\/p>\n<p>From there, the Croatian looked increasingly confident. He brushed aside Roberto Bautista Agut, dominated F\u00e9lix Auger-Aliassime, and coolly handled Cameron Norrie in the semifinals. In the final, he played near-flawless tennis to defeat Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets, completing a <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2022\/08\/21\/borna-coric-cincinnati\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">title run that felt both inspiring and inevitable by that time.<\/a> Unlike other shock champions, \u0106ori\u0107\u2019s quality had long been recognized on tour, and this was more a reminder of what he was always capable of.<\/p>\n<p><a  id=\"YHGHShLDTMZeMlsshdZJ9w\" class=\"gie-single\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2231886838\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'YHGHShLDTMZeMlsshdZJ9w',sig:'ZD-qK187v-_6hUvrGt_PRch0R4CNnQ5jvnmg1pTClWI=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'2231886838',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h3>1. Valentin Vacherot \u2014 Shanghai 2025<\/h3>\n<p>And now to the most improbable run of them all. Entering the main draw through qualifying, after surviving two tight battles that could easily have gone the other way, Valentin Vacherot went on to produce one of the most astonishing stories in modern tennis. The Monegasque began by brushing aside Laslo Djere in the opening round before starting his giant-killing surge through the Shanghai draw.<\/p>\n<p>In the Round of 16, he held his nerve to edge past Tallon Griekspoor in a tense third set, then stunned tenth seed Holger Rune in the quarterfinals. What followed was a result that sent shockwaves through the sport, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2025\/10\/11\/world-no-204-valentin-vacherot-stuns-novak-djokovic-at-shanghai-rolex-masters\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">a straight-sets victory over Novak Djokovic<\/a> in the semifinals. In the final, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2025\/10\/11\/cousins-arthur-rinderknech-and-valentin-vacherot-make-tennis-history\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">facing his cousin Arthur Rinderknech<\/a>, Vacherot showed no signs of nerves, completing his dream week to become the first player ranked outside the top 200 ever to win a Masters 1000 title.<\/p>\n<p>The triumph, achieved after nine matches in total, six of them going the distance, has rocketed the 26-year-old into the Top 50. More than just a breakthrough, it marks a life-changing moment for a player who earned his place the hard way, coming through qualifying and transforming that opportunity into one of tennis\u2019s greatest underdog triumphs.<\/p>\n<p><a  id=\"53v1V6ATRsh6pDsx1IOj8w\" class=\"gie-single\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2240192703\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'53v1V6ATRsh6pDsx1IOj8w',sig:'gZ_l48y4g_KBFpOit35t2enBeG6Ze9rGz4ILVu9Q2p0=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'2240192703',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em>Main Photo Credit: David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Valentin Vacherot made history in Shanghai by becoming the lowest-ranked player ever (World No. 204) to win an ATP Masters 1000 tournament, defeating his cousin Arthur Rinderknech in the final. And although his run was a pure fairytale, seemingly more improbable than any before, he is not the only one to have risen from the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5608,"featured_media":55945,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1735,2,9],"tags":[3970,10566,16662,346,1688,1219,411,7605,2916,4775,22,135,447,304,4692,18095],"class_list":["post-92007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-atp","category-all-time-best","category-featured","category-news","tag-alexei-popyrin","tag-arthur-rinderknech","tag-ben-shelton","tag-borna-coric","tag-cameron-norrie","tag-felix-auger-aliassime","tag-grigor-dimitrov","tag-holger-rune","tag-hubert-hurkacz","tag-laslo-djere","tag-novak-djokovic","tag-rafael-nadal","tag-roberto-bautista-agut","tag-stefanos-tsitsipas","tag-tallon-griekspoor","tag-valentin-vacherot"],"modified_by":"Yesh Ginsburg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5608"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92007"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92007\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92291,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92007\/revisions\/92291"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}