Buyun Chaokete: Experienced physical discomfort during the match, plans to reduce schedule next year

On October 4th Beijing time, Chinese player Buyun Chaokete lost 4-6, 4-6 to 26th seed Darderi in the second round of the men’s singles at the 2025 Shanghai Rolex Masters, ending his run in the last 64.

Buyun Chaokete

During the second set, Buyun Chaokete requested a medical timeout. After the match, discussing his physical condition, he said: “I’m not sure if it was heatstroke. I felt unwell, my vision darkened. Maybe it’s because doubles matches were tiring. Yesterday, towards the end, I felt a bit off. Also, I didn’t sleep early that day since the previous singles match ended around 2 or 3 a.m. Possibly because I’ve been playing both singles and doubles continuously for a month—from the Davis Cup to Hangzhou and Beijing. The intensity these days has indeed been high.”

During this year’s China season, Buyun Chaokete was eliminated in the first round of singles in both Hangzhou and the China Open, but managed to secure a singles win in Shanghai. Reflecting on his performance this season in China, he said: “My play has been improving during the China season. Hangzhou was a bit unfortunate, and my form in Beijing wasn’t great—both mentally and physically I was average. But I did well in Shanghai and adjusted quickly. The first-round singles match went well. Actually, I didn’t play badly today; it’s probably because I wasn’t feeling well physically.”

This year is Buyun Chaokete’s first full season on the ATP Tour. After experiencing tournaments worldwide, he stated that next year he will streamline his schedule: “I have played healthily throughout the year, which shows I value my body. Occasional situations like today are acceptable because the schedule is indeed very packed. Next year, I will make some adjustments to my schedule, especially during the China season. I believe I can do better next year since this year was already an improvement over last year. Competing this year also helped me understand which tournaments I like or dislike, and in what environments I perform well or poorly, giving me better self-awareness.”

Regarding the remainder of this year’s plan, Buyun Chaokete revealed: “Due to physical fatigue, I might skip the upcoming European indoor tournaments, possibly only attending the Almaty event, then resting in Asia. I will focus more on improving my physical condition and technical skills to prepare for next year. I have already played enough this year.” Speaking about his cooperation with foreign coach Marisay, he said: “I am still in contact with coach Marisay. He gives me a lot of advice. Our recent collaboration went very well, and there is a strong chance we will train together during winter training.”

(Text and editing by Wang Fei, photos provided by the tournament)