PARIS (AP) — Ben Shelton beat Arthur Rinderknech 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) on Thursday for a season's best 43rd win and a spot in the Paris Masters quarterfinals.
The U.S. Open runner-up next faces No. 12 Tommy Paul in an all-American contest. It will be their fifth career meeting, with the players on two wins each, and the first since 2024.
Click to Gallery
France's Luca van Assche returns a ball to Italy's Lorenzo Musetti during their third round match at the Paris Masters tennis tournament, in Nanterre, near Paris, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
Ben Shelton, back left, of the United States reacts with his coach and father, Bryan Shelton, during their round of 16 match at the Paris Masters tennis tournament in Nanterre, near Paris, France, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
Ben Shelton of the United States reacts after winning his round of 16 match against Arthur Rinderknech of France at the Paris Masters tennis tournament in Nanterre, near Paris, France, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
Ben Shelton, left, of the United States walks with Arthur Rinderknech of France after winning round of 16 match at the Paris Masters tennis tournament in Nanterre, near Paris, France, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
Ben Shelton of the United States returns a ball to Arthur Rinderknech of France during their round of 16 match at the Paris Masters tennis tournament in Nanterre, near Paris, France, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
“It’s been a long time since we’ve been on the court, but I’m looking forward to it,” Shelton said. “He’s in great form right now. A great player, a great friend.”
Paul earlier beat Quentin Halys 7-6 (3), 6-4 in the third round to maintain an outside chance of clinching one of the two remaining spots for the Nov. 15-22 ATP Finals in Turin.
“I've been rooting for him all year to make a push and make it to Turin,” said Shelton, who is among the six players already qualified. “It will be fireworks tomorrow.”
Earlier, Carlos Alcaraz advanced after Matteo Berrettini withdrew from their third-round match because of an arm injury. The big-serving Italian did not specify which arm but said in an Instagram post that he has been in pain for a few days.
The second-seeded Alcaraz’s quarterfinal opponent will be the winner of a match later Thursday between sixth-seeded Arthur Fils of France and No. 11 Taylor Fritz, who is also trying to reach the ATP Finals. A loss for Fritz later would qualify fellow American Frances Tiafoe.
Another Frenchman got home fans on their feet even before Fils played, with Luca Van Assche beating Lorenzo Musetti 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 to reach his first-ever Masters quarterfinal.
The No. 47-ranked Van Assche served out the match with a neat volley at the net on his first match point against Musetti, who has reached at least the quarterfinals at all four majors.
After beating Novak Djokovic in the second round, qualifier Rinky Hijikata advanced with a 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 win over Tomas Etcheverry and plays Van Assche next.
See AP’s full tennis coverage here
France's Luca van Assche returns a ball to Italy's Lorenzo Musetti during their third round match at the Paris Masters tennis tournament, in Nanterre, near Paris, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
Ben Shelton, back left, of the United States reacts with his coach and father, Bryan Shelton, during their round of 16 match at the Paris Masters tennis tournament in Nanterre, near Paris, France, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
Ben Shelton of the United States reacts after winning his round of 16 match against Arthur Rinderknech of France at the Paris Masters tennis tournament in Nanterre, near Paris, France, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
Ben Shelton, left, of the United States walks with Arthur Rinderknech of France after winning round of 16 match at the Paris Masters tennis tournament in Nanterre, near Paris, France, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
Ben Shelton of the United States returns a ball to Arthur Rinderknech of France during their round of 16 match at the Paris Masters tennis tournament in Nanterre, near Paris, France, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — LIV Golf is shuttering after five years that fractured the sport's landscape, announcing Thursday in bankruptcy court it plans to wind down operations instead of launching a new version because it didn't have enough support.
“The debtors are not currently proceeding with the LIV 2.0 plan,” attorney Matthew Williams of Gibson Dunn said in a hearing in New Jersey. “Instead, the debtors are toggling to a value-maximizing wind-down in their business."
LIV Golf, which launched in June 2022 by offering nine-figure signing bonuses to lure top names away from the PGA Tour, lost Saudi Arabia funding in April after spending more than $5 billion.
It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sept. 8 and thought it had a lifeline in BC Partners Credit, which pledged a $300 million investment to pivot to a more financially sustainable “LIV 2.0.” But players like Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia, Tyrrell Hatton and Louis Oosthuizen, weren't interested.
“BC Partners Credit supported a transaction that aligned the interests of players and investors, offering a credible path toward building a sustainable future for LIV Golf," BC Partners said in a statement. “While there was great support for the league, we are disappointed that mutually acceptable terms could not be reached among the various stakeholders.”
Instead of planning for a new version for 2027, LIV enters a liquidation phase.
Rahm already agreed to forfeit all claims against LIV — said to be worth some $100 million — to get out of his contract. He is back to playing the European tour, with hopes there will be a path back to the PGA Tour. The tour currently has a one-year ban dating to players' last LIV appearance.
LIV Golf paid $15.6 million to retain seven of its executives, including $6.375 million to CEO Scott O’Neil, in the months between the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia and LIV filing for bankruptcy. Those payments are not unusual for a company trying to emerge from bankruptcy. The question now is whether those payments can be voided since LIV isn't going forward.
LIV suffered two big setbacks, before and after filing for bankruptcy.
The Asian Tour, which received financial support from LIV for an International Series, decided in July to renew an alliance with the PGA Tour and the commercially known DP World Tour in Europe.
Then, European tour CEO Guy Kinnings last month said anyone signing up for LIV 2.0 need not apply for membership on the European tour, which put European players at risk of having no part in the Ryder Cup.
Kinnings said in an interview with The Scotsman newspaper earlier this week, "But we also have to protect the tour against an entity who spent, so we are told, over $7 billion, with one of their aims being to ‘destroy the DP World Tour.’”
But the biggest setback was in April, two weeks after the Masters and two months after the start of the Iran war. PIF changed its investment strategy and said it would no longer pay for LIV Golf after the 2026 season.
LIV was originally run by Greg Norman, who tried unsuccessfully to start a world tour in 1994 only to have it quashed by Arnold Palmer and the PGA Tour. Norman had Saudi money at his disposal, and promoted LIV as “Golf, but louder” with its blaring music, 54-hole shotgun starts and $25 million in prize funds — individual and team — at each event.
But it had no broadcast deal the first year, meaning it had to cover production costs. It got the CW Network in 2023, and eventually got Fox Sports to sign on in 2025.
The year began with Brooks Koepka getting out of his LIV deal with one year remaining, and the PGA Tour created a path — with financial penalties — to return. Patrick Reed chose not to extend his deal and now is poised to return to the PGA Tour next year through his performance in Europe.
Rahm had said on Tuesday he would be willing to pay the same price as Koepka, though it was unlikely that same deal would be offered.
LIV 2.0 was pushing player equity and prize money that was more than half the $20 million purses for individuals when it began in 2022. LIV’s final event was in August in Indianapolis, won by Michael La Sasso. He failed to get through the second stage of European tour Q-school last week.
See AP’s full golf coverage here
FILE - An overall view of a LIV Golf sign at the pro-am ahead of LIV Golf Team Championship at the Trump National Doral, Oct. 19, 2023 in Miami. (Charles Laberge/LIV Golf via AP, File)
FILE - Captain Bryson DeChambeau, of Crushers GC, putts on the 18th green during the final round of LIV Golf South Africa at The Club at Steyn City, Sunday, March 22, 2026, in Midrand, South Africa. (LIV Golf via AP, File)
FILE - Phil Mickelson lines up a putt on the 18th hole during the first round of the Bedminster Invitational LIV Golf tournament in Bedminster, N.J., July 29, 2022. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
FILE - LIV Golf CEO, Greg Norman, looks over the 12th tee during the practice round for the LIV Golf Adelaide tournament at the Grange Golf Club, Thursday, April 25, 2024 in Adelaide, Australia. (Jon Ferrey/LIV Golf via AP, File)
