The Grand Slams may be over for the year, but there’s still plenty to play for as the tennis season nears an end and women’s world number two Iga Swiatek is back in action this week in Japan.
The Toray Pan Pacific Open is the main event on the WTA this week, with support from the Ningbo Open in China.
On the men’s circuit, meanwhile, the China Open in Beijing is the big event in the final week of September, while the Astana Open takes place in Kazakhstan and both events will run through to the end of the month.
Dethroned Swiatek heads for Tokyo
| What | Toray Pan Pacific Open |
| Where | Tokyo, Japan |
| When | Monday 25th September – Sunday 1st October, 2023 |
| How to watch | Amazon Prime |
The Toray Pan Pacific Open, also known as the WTA Tokyo, is a hard-court tournament and this year’s edition will have 32 women competing in the singles draw.
Former world number one Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula are among the higher-ranked players in attendance.
Swiatek will be contesting her first tournament since falling in the fourth round of the US Open in New York.
With that loss, she lost the World No. 1 ranking to Aryna Sabalenka and it will be interesting to see where the Pole is at mentally at this stage of the season.
Swiatek, 22, rates as the one to beat this week in Tokyo, where she is joined by Pegula, who will also be contesting her first event since losing in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows to Madison Keys.
Heading into the tournament, Swiatek has a 5-3 edge in the head-to-head with the American world number four and they are seeded one and two for Tokyo ahead of their entrance at the last-16 stage.
Jabeur the top seed in China
| What | Ningbo Open |
| Where | Ningbo, China |
| When | Monday 25th September – Saturday 30th September, 2023 |
| How to watch | Amazon Prime |
Beaten Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur is the top-seeded player in the field for the Ningbo Open in China, which also gets underway on Monday.
Britain’s Katie Boulter is also in the field, seeded seventh, and she opens up against Vera Zvonareva on the same side of the draw as the Tunisian top seed. Petra Kvitova is the headline name in the bottom section and is the second seed.
This is the sixth staging of the Ningbo Open, though the event was last played in 2014 when Poland’s Magda Linette defeated home hope Wang Qiang in a three-set final.
Alcaraz and Medvedev headline Beijing field
| What | China Open |
| Where | Beijing, China |
| When | Thursday 28th September – Wednesday 4th October |
| How to watch | Amazon Prime |
The China Open in Beijing returns for the first time since 2019 and is the headline event on the ATP Tour this week, with the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev looking to win the tournament for the first time.
They are joined in a deep field by Holger Rune, Casper Ruud, Jannik Sinner, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverev.
Tsitsipas was the beaten finalist in 2019, going down in three sets against Dominic Thiem, having disposed of Zverev in the last eight.
The Beijing Olympic Green Tennis Center – built for the 2008 Olympic Games – is the venue for the China Open, complete with a 15,000 stadium, retractable roof and space-age air-cooling technology to benefit both players and spectators.
Alcaraz will make his Beijing debut and the draw will be made on Tuesday 26th September for this ATP 500 event.
Bublik carries home hopes in Astana
| What | Astana Open |
| Where | Astana, Kazakhstan |
| When | Wednesday 27th September – Tuesday 3rd October |
| How to watch | Amazon Prime |
After two successful editions in 2020 and 2021, the Astana Open in Kazakhstan became a permanent ATP Tour member this season. Novak Djokovic defeated Tsitsipas in the 2022 decider, though neither man will be in the field this week.
The entry list was instead headed by Croatian Borna Coric, ranked 23rd in the world, and Dutch ace Tallon Griekspoor, ranked one spot behind him.
Kazakhstan’s No.1 Alexander Bublik is in the field, as is another home hope in wildcard entry Mikhail Kukushkin.
