ROLEX PARIS MASTERS

October 25, 2025

Arthur Rinderknech

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. Hello. Can you talk about how you feel on the center court, the speed?

ARTHUR RINDERKNECH: Hmm. I felt quite good on the court. Everything is going well. The court is slower than if we compare with last year, which is actually a good thing, because it was quite fast. It is still quite fast.

I think that the balance that was struck was good. The room is beautiful. There was a bit of crowd in the room, so it was nice to share that moment with the crowd, as well. All is well.

Q. How did you take in this final in Shanghai? And how did you experience these last 15 days?

ARTHUR RINDERKNECH: I went back home. I spent some time at the sea, in the mountains, to take some time off, which is quite good, because the Asian tour wore me out, and there was the Davis Cup, as well, which was a change after the US Open and the American tour.

I was quite exhausted, so it was important for me to regroup and spend some quality time with my wife and the people in my family.

It was a good thing after this final in Shanghai. Of course, had I won, it would have been the icing on the cake, but already, being a runner-up was a good thing, and I have a lot of good positive things to take back from this.

And then I thought as for Basel, I thought if I felt ready, I would play; if not, I wouldn't play. And I felt I was a bit tired, so I didn't want to make the same mistakes, so I decided to take some time off, to take some to regroup.

I thought it was risky to go to Basel. It could be risky for me. I could be borderline for this tournament had I gone on court in Basel, because it's a very intense tournament. Every time you play a match in competition, it can be intense.

So we decided not to play and to have preparation ahead of this Masters 1000 and not to take risks for the Davis Cup, which is to happen in a few weeks.

And it is a big objective, as well.

Q. With Valentin you seem to be together all the time. For the draw you were together. You had also kind of a media tour for two weeks. You speak about Shanghai all the time. How do you experience all this?

ARTHUR RINDERKNECH: Well, I enjoy myself. What we achieved was outstanding. It's historical. We may add all the adjectives you might want to add. It was kind of a family affair. It was incredible. I'm delighted for him.

ATP Tour means playing every week, so we turned the page already. We could talk about this all our lifelong, of course, but a page has been turned. There is a new tournament ahead of us with our own respective objectives to fulfill. I'm still his No. 1 fan, his No. 1 tutor, and his No. 1 cousin.

Q. When you arrived in Basel, did you already know you would have a wildcard in Paris?

ARTHUR RINDERKNECH: No, I actually heard the news, just like everyone. I didn't know before the others. You know, back to back, Davis Cup and the Asian tour, so my team wasn't too much concerned about me having it.

I was actually up for grabs for this wildcard already before. I actually heard the news at the last moment, but it wasn't a big surprise. I actually never doubted that I would get it. It's a beautiful gesture from the tournament, and I thank them warmly.

Q. When you compare with 2023 when you were the No. 1 Frenchman, did you actually since then draw some lessons?

ARTHUR RINDERKNECH: Yes, I'm a competitor. I love playing tennis. I want to play every week. I want to get on court to put up a fight. This is everything I love.

But in Basel, we decided not to play because it wasn't reasonable. In the past, I would have played. I don't know. Maybe. But I could sustain an injury in the back or sustain a tear and arrive here and be out of sorts.

I could actually start this tournament with a short time off, and this is what Lucas is teaching me, is to play smarter.