Shanghai Masters 2024 Preview: When is it, who is playing and what is the prize money?
The Asian swing is set to reach its climax on the ATP Tour next week, with the 2024 Shanghai Masters taking place.
And we, at Tennishead, have the perfect guide for you ahead of the 13th edition of the Masters 1000 tournament:
When are the Shanghai Masters 2024?
The main draw of the Shanghai Masters gets underway on Wednesday 2nd October, with the tournament reaching its conclusion on Sunday 13th October with both the singles and doubles finals.
Play on most days begins at 12:30pm local time (5:30am BST), with night sessions starting at the later time of 6:30pm in Shanghai (11:30am BST).
The qualifying draw will be conducted on Monday 30th September and Tuesday 1st October.
Where are the Shanghai Masters held?
Once again, the Shanghai Masters will be held at the QiZhong Forest Sports City Arena, which is the largest tennis venue in Asia.
The complex contains a total of 25 tennis courts, headlined by Centre Court (13,800 seats), Grandstand Court 2 (5,000 seats) and Court 3 (2,000 seats).
Who is playing at the Shanghai Masters 2024?
Shanghai will once again see a stacked lineup, featuring all of the top 10 ranked players.
This includes Novak Djokovic, who is a record four-time champion in Shanghai, and will return to the tournament for the first time in five years.
Djokovic has spoken openly about how the ATP Finals are no longer a priority of his, with the Shanghai Masters currently the only tournament that he is entered into.
The Serbian will be bidding for a historic fifth title at the Masters 1000 event, but will face tough competition from the likes of World No.1 Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev.
Shanghai is READY ✨
The star-studded line-up for #RolexShanghaiMasters is here 🤩 pic.twitter.com/zCMk3PVNFk
— Rolex Shanghai Masters (@SH_RolexMasters) September 4, 2024
Out of those, Medvedev is the only former champion having won the title five years ago.
However, he is not the only other previous winner entered into the draw, with defending champion Hubert Hurkacz also returning to the Chinese municipality as the eighth seed.
Some of the other big names heading to Shanghai include Andrey Rublev, Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud, Grigor Dimitrov, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Tommy Paul, Holger Rune, Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton.
Wildcards have been awarded to three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, 2011 Shanghai semi-finalist Kei Nishikori and Chinese hopeful Yunchaokete Bu.
Our first wildcards for the 2024 #RolexShanghaiMasters have been announced 🙌@keinishikori @stanwawrinka pic.twitter.com/BAiqe3MAiv
— Rolex Shanghai Masters (@SH_RolexMasters) September 25, 2024
How many ranking points are on offer at the Shanghai Masters 2024?
With the ATP Finals fastly approaching, this is one of the last opportunities for those still in contention to pick up some all important ranking points.
And here is a breakdown of those ranking points on offer in Shanghai:
| Event | W | F | SF | QF | R16 | R32 | R64 | R128 | Q | Q2 | Q1 |
| Singles | 1000 | 650 | 400 | 200 | 100 | 50 | 30 | 10 | 20 | 10 | 0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doubles | 600 | 360 | 180 | 90 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
What is the prize money for the Shanghai Masters 2024?
There is a total prize pot of $8,955,555 at the Shanghai Masters this year, which is a 2.22% increase on last year’s tournament.
And here is how both singles and doubles players can get a share of that over the next fortnight:
| Event | W | F | SF | QF | R16 | R32 | R64 | R128 | Q2 | Q1 |
| Singles | $1,100,000 | $585,000 | $325,000 | $185,000 | $101,000 | $59,100 | $34,500 | $23,250 | $13,500 | $7,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doubles* | $447,300 | $236,800 | $127,170 | $63,600 | $34,100 | $18,640 | — | — | — | — |
*Per team
Previous winners of the Shanghai Masters
Last year saw Hubert Hurkacz as somewhat of a surprise champion, beating Andrey Rublev in a deciding set tie-break to clinch the second Masters 1000 title of his career.
There was a similar conclusion to the doubles final also, as Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos fought back to beat the team of Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden.
Here are all of the past 10 singles and doubles champions from the Shanghai Masters:
| Year | Singles Champion | Doubles Champions |
| 2011 | Novak Djokovic | Max Mirnyi & Daniel Nestor |
| 2012 | Novak Djokovic (2) | Leander Paes (2) & Radek Stepanek |
| 2013 | Novak Djokovic (4) | Ivan Dodig & Marcelo Melo |
| 2014 | Roger Federer | Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan |
| 2015 | Novak Djokovic (3) | Raven Klaasen & Marcelo Melo (2) |
| 2016 | Andy Murray (3) | John Isner & Jack Sock |
| 2017 | Roger Federer (2) | Henri Kontinen & John Peers |
| 2018 | Novak Djokovic (4) | Lukasz Kubot & Marcelo Melo (3) |
| 2019 | Daniil Medvedev | Mate Pavic & Bruno Soares |
| 2020-2022 | Not held due to Covid-19 | – |
| 2023 | Hubert Hurkacz | Marcel Granollers & Horacio Zeballos |
How can you watch the Shanghai Masters 2024?
You can watch the Shanghai Masters on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland, Tennis Channel in the United States of America and on Tennis TV worldwide.
For more information on how to watch the culmination of the ATP Asian swing in your location, visit the official tournament website here.
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