Belhers: A young man from a small Belgian town knocking on the door of victory in Shanghai

Every autumn, the flame of tennis burns brightly in Shanghai, lighting up the night skyline. Under the spotlight, the Qizhong Forest Tennis Center transforms into a dazzling tennis sanctuary in the autumn breeze, with the sound of ball strikes echoing as players fiercely compete for victory. As the tournament advances to the third round, thrilling matches unfold one after another, with Belgium’s Belhers breaking through the seed-packed draw like a sharp sword drawn from its sheath.

In this year’s Shanghai Rolex Masters draw, Belhers is positioned in the 3/4 section guarded by Serbian star Djokovic and 6th seed Shelton. He showcased excellent form in the first round, defeating American star Korda in straight sets. In the second round, facing the 11th seed Ruud, Belhers staged a comeback from a set down to win. Against 19th seed Cerundolo in the third round, Belhers’ shot-making improved significantly, closing out the match in straight sets to reach the Masters 1000 round of 16 for the first time in his career. In the fourth round, he will face another seeded player — the young Canadian Diallo.

Belhers was born in Pelt, a small Belgian town with a population of just 30,000. Influenced and guided by his father, he started playing tennis at the age of three and began professional training at eight. He quickly stood out during his junior years, reaching a highest ranking of No. 12. However, his path on the professional circuit was not smooth. To enhance his competitiveness, he chose to leave his hometown and move to Spain for more professional training. Reflecting on this challenging period, he said, “Even though it meant leaving all my family and friends behind, I found joy in the hard training. Life was all about tennis, but I dedicated myself fully to practice, and it was this focus that ultimately brought me great satisfaction.”

After nearly six years as a professional, the 24-year-old Belgian broke into the top 100 for the first time last June. Over the past year, Belhers’ world ranking has steadily climbed, moving from the top 100 into the top 50 in less than a year. He reached two ATP Tour finals at the ATP250 Auckland event early in 2025 and the ATP250 ’s-Hertogenbosch in June. He also caused an upset at this year’s Miami Masters by defeating Rublev, earning his first top 10 win. Following his debut third-round appearance at a hard-court Grand Slam at the US Open this year, he achieved a career-high ranking of No. 44 at the end of September. Thanks to his impressive performance at the Shanghai Rolex Masters, his live ranking has now risen to No. 40, securing a new personal best in the upcoming rankings.

Belhers possesses a highly threatening serve and an explosive forehand. As a powerful, aggressive all-court player, his tactical core is to finish points through proactive offense. What he needs is a racquet that can amplify his attacking strengths while compensating for potential weaknesses, and the YONEX VCORE 98 he uses is exactly such a formidable weapon.

“It took me a very long time to break into the top 100, and once I finally achieved that goal, my next ambition was, of course, to reach the top 50. Now we have a new target: to enter the top 20,” Belhers openly shares his ambitions. After the long journey from turning pro to breaking into the top 100, his trajectory on the tour has been a steep upward curve. As Belgium’s highest-ranked male tennis player currently in his prime, Belhers is eager to make his mark in the world tennis arena.

(Text and editing by Wang Fei, photos by Visual China)