ATP Tour:
Beijing 500, China:
We’re half way through the Beijing event, at the quarter-final stage, with plenty of big names remaining. Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, and Jannik Sinner, all still in the running for the title.
Astana 250, Kazakhstan:
Another midweek to midweek event, and currently this is at the semi finals stage, with Sebastian Korda, and Adrian Mannarino the top seeds remaining.
Shanghai 1000, China:
The Shanghai Masters return after a 4 year hiatus. This year it will be played over 12 days, and includes a 96 man draw, equal to Indian Wells. Novak Djokovic won’t be taking part unfortunately, which is a shame for the event. However, almost all the other top players will be in attendance, and it will be the first time some of the young guns such as Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune, and Jannik Sinner will have played in Shanghai. For the Aussies, we are very well represented. Alex de Minaur, Max Purcell, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Alexei Popyrin, Christopher O’Connell, Jordan Thompson, and Aleksandar Vukic will all hope to consolidate their rankings in the last quarter of the season with a further 10 Aussies in qualifying.
WTA Tour:
Beijing 1000, China:
The Beijing Women’s event has already kicked off, and it’s a stacked field as expected, with all the top 8 players in the world, filling the top 8 seeded positions. Plus, the 16th seeded Veronika Kudermetova will be high on confidence after taking out the Tokyo 500 event. Most of the first round is completed at the time of writing, and there hasn’t been any major upsets yet. For the Aussies, Daria Saville has kicked off her campaign with a win over Katerina Siniakova. She will now take on Anhelina Kalinina, and has a great opportunity to go further into the tournament.
ATP Challenger Tour:
Alicante 100, Spain:
A young Carlos Alcaraz won this event back in 2020. It’s fair to say we won’t see him in a Challenger event for some time, but maybe the next Alcaraz is in this year’s field. Frenchman Constant Lestienne is the sole top 100 player, and top seed. Just behind him are Alex Molcan, Pedro Martinez, and compatriot, Benoit Paire.
Campinas 100, Brazil:
The longest running Challenger event in Brazil is held just outside of Sao Paulo, going back to 2011. Plenty of good players on the honour board, including Sebastian Baez, Cristian Garin, and Diego Schwartzman. Last year’s winner, Jan Choinski, is back this year, trying to recapture some Brazilian form. He won’t be the top seed though. That position will go to Argentinian, Federico Coria, who will be looking to hang on to a spot in the top 100 for the remainder of the year, currently ranked 83.
Mouilleron le Captif 100, France:
Traditionally, quite a strong indoor event over the last ten years, and this year would also fit into that category. The local crowd will have plenty of players to cheer on, with Hugo Gaston, ranked 89, playing as the top seed, and 3rd seed Benjamin Bonzi also carrying the French hopes. Other threats to the title this week are Austria’s Dominic Stricker, David Goffin, Maxime Cressy, and Britain’s Jack Draper. No Aussies making the trip to France for this event.
Lisbon 75, Portugal:
No Aussies heading to Portugal either, and just the one top 100 player, in Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas. He’s dropped from 39 at the start of the year, but at age 35, after a solid career, he’s just hanging on to a double figure ranking now. Other seeds who’d fancy their chances this week, are Flavio Cobolli, Timofey Skatov, and Pable Llamas Ruiz.
Tiburon 75, USA:
Tiburon has been on the calendar since 2003 (with a couple of breaks), and it’s easy to see why players love going there, located next to the San Francisco Bay. No top 100 players appearing this week, but there are a few Aussies plying their trade. Tristan Schoolkate, Adam Walton, and Bernard Tomic. Tristan has jumped nearly 100 places this season to 273, Adam has more than halved his ranking since the start of season, now up to 207, while Bernard has also pushed up from 462 to currently 295. There’s been some great progress by Aussies this year, and events like this are opportunities to jump even higher before the end of season. The top seed is 19 year old Alex Michelson, who, when talking about ranking rises, has to be one of the best this year. From 600, to on the cusp of the top 100, he is definitely one to watch.
ITF Tour:
M/W25 Cairns:
Plenty of Aussies following the Pro tour around the country. Lizette Cabrera, Maddison Inglis, and Destanee Aiava will again be the top three seeds. Nineteen year old Talia Gibson will be looking to continue her stellar form, after reaching the final of both events in Perth. The men;s side will be led by Blake Ellis, Tom Fancutt and a man coming in with great form Blake Mott fresh off back to back Darwin titles.
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