Van Assche climbs to career-high No. 34 after Paris run; new French No. 2
Luca Van Assche’s run at Rolex Paris ended in a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 semi-final loss to third seed Ben Shelton, but the 22-year-old leaves with a career-high No. 34 ranking and the French No. 2 spot behind Arthur Fils. The former junior world No. 1, crowned in Estoril in July, insists the ranking will follow if he keeps learning.
Luca Van Assche, Rolex Paris Masters 2026 | © Chryslène Caillaud / PsNewz
France’s Luca Van Assche will rise to a career-high No. 34 in the ATP rankings on Monday, the reward for his run to the semi-finals of the Paris Masters 1000.
The 22-year-old climbs from No. 47, the ranking he held when he played the Rolex Paris Masters this week. He also moves up from French No. 4 to French No. 2, behind Arthur Fils.
In the last 16, he beat Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 in 2 hours 40 minutes. He then edged Australia’s Rinky Hijikata 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-5 in 2 hours 45 minutes to reach the last four. That made him the second-youngest Frenchman to reach the semi-finals at the event, after Richard Gasquet in 2007.
His run ended on Saturday against American third seed Ben Shelton, the World No. 4, who won 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in 2 hours 17 minutes. A place in the final would have lifted Van Assche to No. 28. “I know that I can go toe to toe with a player like Shelton today,” he said in his press conference.
The new ranking caps a season in which Van Assche has kept crossing new lines. In July, he won his first ATP title in Estoril, beating Alexander Blockx 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 in the final. On the way to that title, he beat Rublev, then No. 14 in the world, for the biggest win of his career.
He came into the Paris semi-final with a 16-12 record in 2026 and without a win in five matches against top-10 players. A former junior World No. 1, he won the 2021 Roland-Garros boys’ singles title by beating Fils.
His next stop is not settled yet. “I don’t know yet. I’m still in the draw, and then I will see with my team,” Van Assche said when asked about Stockholm.
Speaking in French at his press conference, he played down any talk of chasing a seeding. “I will be 34 in the ranking. It’s a very good ranking. It’s very positive,” he said. “But above all, I will try to remain focused on my game, on learning new skills, on progressing, and then the ranking will follow.”
