China Open and Japan Open: Jack Draper, Harriet Dart and Katie Boulter in action in Asia, live on Sky Sports

Here’s everything you need to know about the China Open and Japan Open, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports this week, including who will be playing in each tournament and who the Brits are in…

Who is competing in the China Open?

The China Open in Beijing features a women’s and men’s singles tournament, a WTA 1000 event and an ATP Tour 500 tournament, at the same time.

In the women’s category, the championship went to Iga Swiatek in the tournament held in 2023 for the first time in four years, following the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The women’s world No 1 and five-time Grand Slam champion withdrew from the tournament ahead of her title defence last week citing “personal matters”.

Aryna SabalenkaFollowing his victory at the US Open, he will now serve as the number one seed Jessica Pegula – Beating the title at Flushing Meadows – second straight 2019 winner Naomi Osaka qualified for the main draw as a wild card, while the two-time champion Caroline Wozniacki (2010, 2018) were also included in the field.

World No. 1 in men’s tournament Jannik Sinner returned to defend his title, last year’s runner-up Daniil Medvedev four of the world’s top five are also participating – Alexander Zverev And Carlos Alcaraz.

But Novak Djokovic is out. The six-time China Open champion has instead opted to rest ahead of next week’s Rolex Shanghai Masters 1000.

Draper ranks 10th at Japan Open

British men’s number 1 Jack Draper He will compete in another ATP Tour 500 tournament, the Japan Open, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports this week.

The 22-year-old starred at the US Open earlier this month, reaching the first Grand Slam semi-final of her career and breaking into the top 20 in the world rankings.

“I want to get to a position where I can play at a high level every week and win consistently,” Draper said ahead of the Japan Open, where he is seeded 10th.

“I want to have a good Asian tour and a good indoor season. The work is not done yet. For me, I’ve played a lot of tennis and travelled a lot during this period, it’s about taking care of my body, not breaking down.

“I want to keep my motivation strong so that I can hopefully finish the year really strong and then have a long pre-season training and work hard on my body and get ready for next year.”

American Ben Shelton returned to defend his title, while his compatriot Taylor FritzHaving triumphed in Japan in 2022, he is also the number one seed for the tournament. France Tiafoe on the field.

What other English people are there in China?

Draper will be flying the British flag in Japan, while Cameron Norrie has withdrawn from the China Open as he struggles to recover from a forearm injury that forced his withdrawal from the US Open.

Women’s British No. 1 Katie Boulter Ranked 28th at the WTA 1000 tournament in Beijing Harriet Dart It is also included in the entry list.

Heather Watson She advanced to the second round of the WTA Beijing by defeating Elsa Jacquemot 2–6 6–2 6–1.

But, Emma Raducanu The former US Open champion, who withdrew from the tournament due to a foot injury, revealed that he had sprained his ligaments.

It was a difficult injury for Raducanu as he had no ranking points to defend and a great opportunity to move up from his current position of 70th in the world rankings over the next few weeks.

“I think as long as I’m healthy, I’ll try to finish the rest of the year and play as many matches as I can,” the 2021 US Open champion said recently.

“That’s something I’ve been really light on since the grass court to (Washington) D.C. era. I haven’t really played a lot of points even in practice.

“For me right now I just want to play matches and work on my game a little bit in the meantime.”

Watch the China Open and Japan Open live on Sky Sports Tennis and Sky Sports+ from Wednesday, September 25. Day one coverage will begin at 04:00.

What’s on Sky Sports Tennis in September?

Japan Open – ATP 500 (September 25-October 1)
China Open – ATP 500 (September 26-October 2)
China Open – WTA 1000 (September 25-October 6)

Sky Sports+ officially launched and will be integrated Sky TVstreaming service NOW And Sky Sports appThis year, Sky Sports customers are given access to over 50 per cent more live sport at no extra cost. Click here for more information.