The Shanghai Masters has concluded, and here comes the epilogue! The poster was criticized for not choosing an auspicious date, and the final lineup dragged down the ticket sales.

The Shanghai Masters has ended. While it appears that calm will return, in reality, the buzz around related topics seems to be just starting.

After Alcaraz claimed the Tokyo 500 championship but withdrew early because of injury, and before the Shanghai Masters began, the public was very confident that even if this year’s final didn’t showcase a super-popular showdown like Djokovic versus Sinner, there would still be at least one star player or a well-known competitor in the final.

However, when Medvedev and Djokovic were defeated by Lindgren and Vacherot respectively, both falling in the semifinals, public opinion was shocked! Many people immediately said that although a final between these cousins was a notable event, the players’ lower profiles and lack of fame would likely hurt ticket sales and indirectly affect the tournament’s popularity.

Good things didn’t work out, but bad things certainly did—this was unfortunately proven true in the end.

According to ticket data, the final featuring Lindgren and Vacherot at the Shanghai Masters indeed lacked appeal. The drop in ticket prices from over 2000 yuan to 900 yuan for the final is the clearest indication. For the globally renowned Shanghai Masters, a more than 50% price drop for final tickets is extremely rare in the tournament’s history.

Therefore, some joked when discussing this matter, blaming Medvedev’s poor performance at critical moments and Djokovic’s struggle with injury compounded by Shanghai’s hot and humid weather. Under such internal and external pressures, the 38-year-old giant was toppled, “otherwise, final tickets wouldn’t have been unexpectedly discounted and would have been nearly impossible to get.”

Although the decline in final ticket prices doesn’t affect the smooth conclusion of the Shanghai Masters, from a business perspective, this situation is clearly not what the organizers wanted. It’s safe to say the event had bad luck this year; from before the start to the tournament’s progress and near the finals, players’ issues caused ticket sales losses and likely left scalpers with almost no profit.

When Djokovic suddenly announced his participation in Shanghai, it triggered a ticket-buying frenzy that once paralyzed the ticketing system. Insider sources revealed scalpers even hiked prices for Djokovic’s matches to five figures.

However, after Djokovic was unexpectedly eliminated by Vacherot due to injury and bad weather, and Lindgren surprisingly defeated Medvedev, the final featuring these two underdogs caused secondhand ticket prices to plummet to nearly zero. This shows that without big-name players, ticket prices are indeed affected.

Once the drop in Shanghai Masters final ticket prices became a hot topic, many fans and netizens openly said the organizers were quite unlucky this year. Usually, Shanghai requires warmer clothing at this time, but this year the heat was relentless. If it weren’t for this cursed weather disrupting things, the final ticket prices probably wouldn’t have been slashed in half.

Besides the controversy over the absurd price drop of the final tickets, another topic that drew attention after the tournament ended was this year’s Shanghai Masters promotional poster.

Before the tournament started, Djokovic unexpectedly gave up time with his family to come to Shanghai and support the Masters, instantly boosting the event’s popularity to a peak.

As a result, when the organizers released a carefully designed poster featuring 22 well-known male tennis players, it quickly sparked widespread attention.

Many people predicted the eventual champion would come from these 22 players on the poster, and naturally, the winner wouldn’t be someone outside of this group.

However, as soon as this highly popular poster hit the trending list, Alcaraz announced his withdrawal due to injury, and the others on the poster seemed cursed—either eliminated early or withdrawing due to weather. By the time both semifinals concluded, all 22 players on the poster had been knocked out. The final contenders for the Shanghai Masters crown actually came from outside the poster group, and since Lindgren and Vacherot are real cousins, it made the story even more interesting!

Therefore, when the Shanghai Masters poster unexpectedly sparked heated debate, many joked that the organizers probably didn’t pick an auspicious date when designing the poster, which caused all 22 featured players to be either eliminated early, withdraw due to injury, or be knocked out entirely. “Next year, they must learn this lesson and never make this mistake again.”

Although this year’s Shanghai Masters was full of surprises from the moment the poster was released until the final ticket sales suffered, leaving some fans and netizens disappointed, the happiest people must be the cousins Lindgren and Vacherot. By delivering the most consistent performances, they reached the final together, created a Shanghai legend, and made new history that is truly inspiring!(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Moon River’s Starry Sky)