Jódar and Davidovich Fokina to meet in first all-Spanish Masters 1000 final since 2017

Rafael Jódar and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, both of Spain, are scheduled to play each other in the final of the Rolex Shanghai Masters on Sunday, October 18, 2026, at the Qi Zhong Tennis Center. According to the ATP Tour, the match will begin not before 4:30 p.m. local time in Shanghai (4:30 a.m. ET / 10:30 a.m. CET). The pairing is the first all-Spanish final at an ATP Masters 1000 event since 2017.

How each player reached the final

Jódar, 20, is in his first season on the full ATP Tour. On the way to his maiden Masters 1000 final he beat Thiago Agustín Tirante, Jiří Lehečka and Botic van de Zandschulp before defeating Casper Ruud 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the quarterfinals and Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals, according to the ATP Tour and ESPN; neither outlet reported the exact set score of the Medvedev match. ESPN reported that the quarterfinal comeback was Jódar's fourth consecutive recovery from a dropped first set at the tournament, and that he became the youngest semifinalist in Shanghai Masters history.

Davidovich Fokina — listed as 27 years old by the ATP Tour, though ESPN's report on the Zverev match gave his age as 25 — entered the tournament ranked No. 26 and reached the final by beating Frances Tiafoe in the third round, saving a match point, and Hubert Hurkacz in the fourth round, according to the ATP Tour. In the semifinals he came back to beat top seed Alexander Zverev 5-7, 6-4, 6-3; the ATP Tour reported that he failed to convert two match points on Zverev's serve while leading 5-2 in the final set before closing out the win on his own serve. It is his second career Masters 1000 final, after losing at Monte Carlo in 2022, and he has already won two ATP 250 titles this year, in Mallorca and Chengdu, according to the ATP Tour and the Rolex Shanghai Masters website.

A final Spain hasn't seen since 2017

The last all-Spanish Masters 1000 final took place at Monte Carlo in 2017, when Rafael Nadal beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-1, 6-3 to win his tenth title there, according to Yahoo Sports. Nadal did not face a single break point in that match. Sunday's Shanghai final is the first time two Spanish players have met for an ATP Masters 1000 trophy since then.

What Medvedev said after losing to Jódar

Medvedev also said he could have placed his serve better, adding that Jódar's return pressure was the main difference in the match, according to the same report.

What is known and what isn't

The winner's exact new ranking has not been published by the ATP Tour beyond confirmation that a Jódar title would put him in the top 10; Davidovich Fokina has already climbed to No. 15 in the live rankings regardless of the final's outcome. At the time of writing, the result of the Shanghai final itself had not yet been reported by the sources available.