Biggest tournament boilovers in recent memory

(Getty/Minas Panagiotakis)

In August 2024, Australia's Alexei Popyrin produced a stunning result that surprised many in the tennis world when he claimed the Montreal Masters, a 1000-level event, despite his modest world ranking of No.62 at the time.

The win catapulted him to No. 23 and secured his seeding for this year's Australian Open.

The shockwaves of that win were twofold. It got people thinking about the path of the next generation, and just how open it might be (seemingly closed again of late), and it also set up Popyrin's next six months; such was the rankings rise.

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Fast forward just over a year, and you find Monaco's Valentin Vacherot…

The world No.204 became the lowest-ranked winner of a Masters 1000 event in tennis history, defeating his cousin Arthur Rinderknech in the Shanghai final.

It was only the third Masters 1000 final in history to feature two unseeded players. (Rinderknech was ranked No.54).

The win launched Vacherot up to a career-high No.40, and the 26-year-old collected more prize money in Shanghai than he had for his entire professional career.

But where does this 'upset' sit amongst the great tennis surprises? And what does the future hold for Vacherot?

Do we compare it to Aslan Karatsev's meteoric rise to an AO semi-final in 2021 at a similar age?

Karatsev peaked at No.14 in the world and won three ATP finals within a year of that breakout run.

Eva Lys, on a smaller scale, did similar at the 2025 AO. A Lucky Loser after qualifying, she surged into the fourth round, having been called up on 20 minutes' notice. She has carried that run on to a career high ranking of No.44 at present.

Whichever way it goes for Vacherot, he's rewritten history.

We will take a look at some of the more surprising title winners in history at Masters 1000 level or above.

Starting with the previous record holder… Croatia's Borna Ćorić. The boom youngster had battled plenty of injuries ahead of the 2022 Cincinnati Masters and hadn't won any ATP title since Halle in 2018.

Ćorić entered the event with a protected ranking, but his live ranking was No.150, which made him, at that point, the lowest-ranked Masters 1000 winner in history.

Bianca Andreescu's scene setter at the 2019 Indian Wells event is worth a mention. The Canadian came from outside the top 100 to defeat five seeded players in a row to claim the 1000-level event.

She backed it up later in the year with her incredible run to claim the US Open title, which continued the Flushing Meadows trend of producing first-time Slam winners.

Injuries and form fluctuations have hit her since, but her fairytale remains forever.

Emma Raducanu's effort in 2021 at the US Open is also towards the top of the list.

At only 18, ranked No. 150 and coming through qualifying, Raducanu won her first Grand Slam without dropping a set — the first ever qualifier to win a major. It was not just a breakthrough, but a seismic upset. Her win instantly became one of tennis' all‑time feel-good stories.

Current pickleball player Jack Sock appeared to have the tennis world at his feet when he burst onto the scene, but like many, backing up the meteoric rise was difficult.

After a modest 2017, having only won one match at Slam level through the French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open, Sock produced the biggest win of his career at the Paris Masters, having nearly been rolled in the first round by Kyle Edmund (down 1-5 in the third set).

Sock wouldn't reach another ATP final of any level from that point on, and only progressed past the second round of a major twice in the following years.

Camila Giorgi was another to surprise in 2021…

Heading to Montreal, ranked No.71 in the world, the talented but erratic Giorgi was expected to trouble a few early, but struggled to impact beyond the opening rounds.

Giorgi was 30 at the time, with a career-high ranking of No.26 and had only surpassed the second round twice at WTA 1000 level across her journey.

She would beat five eventual Grand Slam finalists en route to the title.

One to perhaps watch for the future, along the Jakub Mensik line on the men's tour, is Victoria Mboko on the women's side.

Mboko won 22 consecutive matches to start 2025, with four straight ITF titles along the way.

She reached the third round of the French Open at her Slam debut, and backed that up with a second round appearance at Wimbledon.

At the Canadian Open, the 19-year-old defeated Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina on her way to the final before downing Naomi Osaka, meaning the teenager beat three consecutive major champions to become the third local to win the tournament.

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She was the event's youngest semi-finalist in a decade and the youngest champion in 30 years. Mboko now jumps into the top 25, and one senses future Masters victories will not be such a surprise for her.

Whether the shock is the start of a magical run or a moment in history, they all paint the magical picture of sport.

Something that has its beauty lies within its unpredictability. 

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