👋 Welcome back to The Daily Theory, our morning rundown to help you stay on top of your favorite sport. I’m Allen McDuffee, your guide to all things tennis.
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Today’s tennis mood rating: dazzled with a bit of breath-holding.
Let’s tennis!
Three Points
🎾 Can’t stop won’t stop: That’s Valentin Vacherot. After taking out 14th seed Jiri Lehecka in the first round of the Paris Masters this week, he followed up with a win over his cousin Arthur Rinderknech for the second time in a row. On Thursday, he convincingly defeated Cameron Norrie, who was fresh off his massive win over Carlos Alcaraz the day before. In short, Vacherot is showing no signs of slowing down on the biggest stages of the ATP Tour this fall.
What they said: “Everything is clicking now. It’s the work of many years — pure work,” Vacherot said after defeating Norrie.
Next: Vacherot faces the winner of Felix Auger-Aliassime and Daniel Altmaier in the quarterfinals of Paris.
The ranking: Vacherot is expected to jump up at least another 10 spots in the rankings. He is now 30 in the live rankings.
🎾 Not today: Grigor Dimitrov won one match during his return to competition against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard before withdrawing against Daniil Medvedev in the second round, citing the shoulder injury he suffered at Wimbledon.
What he said: “It’s been a successful week in Paris and I’m proud to be able to assess my condition and to prove that my efforts and those of my team are in the right direction. After performing competitively for some days, I felt confident it was the right time to stop,” Dimitrov posted on Instagram. “Excited for the challenges and opportunities 2026 will bring!”
Noteworthy: Although he withdrew from the singles, Dimitrov kept his commitment to play doubles with Nicolas Mahut so that he could retire before a home crowd in Paris. They lost against Nys and Roger-Vasselin and exchanged match shirts once it was over.
🎾 United at United Cup: Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu have committed to representing Great Britain at the United Cup in Australia in 2026. The two British number ones, who have called it early on their 2025 season with injuries and fatigue, have never competed at the United Cup before.
What she said: “I’m honored to be able to make my United Cup debut in January,” Raducanu said. “Being able to play for Team GB with my teammates is a unique opportunity and week to enjoy...It’s great to be able to experience a new format on the tour, represent my country, and spend a couple extra weeks in Australia.”
Noteworthy: Great Britain has joined Australia and Poland in committing to the 2026 edition of United Cup.
And, that’s game.
On The Radar
Matches we’re monitoring today:
Paris - ATP 1000 (Hard)
Cameron Norrie vs. Valentin Vacherot (3rd round)
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Daniel Altmaier (3rd round)
Taylor Fritz vs. Alexander Bublik (3rd round)
Francisco Cerundolo vs. Jannik Sinner (3rd round)
Ben Shelton vs. Andrey Rublev (3rd round)
Karen Khachanov vs. Alex de Minaur (3rd round)
Chennai - WTA 250 (Hard)
Janice Tjen vs. Linda Fruhvirtova (2nd round)
Kimberly Birrell vs. Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty (2nd round)
Zeynep Sonmez vs. Lanlana Tararudee (2nd round)
Jiujiang - WTA 250 (Hard)
Yulia Putintseva vs. Viktorija Golubic (Quarterfinals)
Lilli Tagger vs. Tamara Korpatsch (Quarterfinals)
Alycia Parks vs. Anna Blinkova (Quarterfinals)
Hong Kong - WTA 250 (Hard)
Belinda Bencic vs. Cristina Bucsa (Quarterfinals)
Sorana Cirstea vs. Leylah Fernandez (Quarterfinals)
Anna Kalinskaya vs. Victoria Mboko or Alex Eala (Quarterfinals)
Maya Joint vs. Eudice Chong or Himeno Sakatsume (Quarterfinals)
📺 Learn how to watch today’s action over at Tennis Watchers.
Read, Watch, Listen
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