The ATP’s Asian swing heats up in a big way with a pair of ATP 500-point tournaments on the schedule this week. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner used to share the spoils in Beijing, where they faced each other each of the past two seasons. Now, though, they are splitting up–Alcaraz has taken his talents to Tokyo. Other stars in action across the two events are Alexander Zverev, Alex de Minaur, Lorenzo Musetti, Andrey Rublev, Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Bublik, Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud, and Holger Rune.
Let’s take a look at two of the biggest events remaining on the 2025 tennis calendar.
China Open
Where: Beijing, China
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $4,016,050
Points: 500
Top seed: Jannik Sinner
2024 champion: Carlos Alcaraz (not playing)
Draw analysis: Sinner will be playing for the first since finishing runner-up at the U.S. Open when he takes the court in Beijing. The second-ranked Italian was absent from the Laver Cup, so he is well rested heading into another bid for a second title (he lifted the trophy in 2023 before losing to Alcaraz in a third-set tiebreaker in last year’s final). Sinner’s draw is a favorable one, as De Minaur is the only other particularly in-form player in the top half–a player whom the top seed famously owns 10-0 in the head-to-head series. De Minaur could face Jakub Mensik in the quarterfinals after just recently defeating the Czech in straight sets on the final day of Laver Cup competition.
The other side is absolutely stacked with depth, including Zverev, Musetti, Rublev, Medvedev, Bublik, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Francisco Cerundolo, and Flavio Cobolli. Musetti, who finished runner-up in Chengdu on Tuesday, will kick off his campaign against familiar foe Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. Rublev is on a collision course with Musetti for the quarters, but the Russian first has to get past Cobolli and would face either Cerundolo or Learnier Tien in round two. A struggling Medvedev opens with Cameron Norrie before potentially running into Davidovich Fokina.
Hot: Jannik Sinner, Alex de Minaur, Lorenzo Musetti, Alexander Bublik, Corentin Moutet
Cold: Daniil Medvedev, Miomir Kecmanovic, Jerry Shang, Zhizhen Zhang
Quarterfinal predictions: Jannik Sinner over Fabian Marozsan, Alex de Minaur over Jerry Shang, Alexander Bublik over Andrey Rublev, and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina over Tallon Griekspoor
Semifinals: Sinner over De Minaur and Bublik over Davidovich Fokina
Final: Sinner over Bublik
Japan Open
Where: Tokyo, Japan
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $2,226,470
Points: 500
Top seed: Carlos Alcaraz
2024 champion: Arthur Fils (not playing)
Draw analysis: Alcaraz doesn’t have anywhere near the competition level that Sinner has in Beijing, but that’s not to say it will be a cakewalk to the title in the 22-year-old Spaniard’s Tokyo debut. After presumably making light work of Sebastian Baez, Alcaraz could meet Chengdu champion Alejandro Tabilo in the last 16. Ruud, Frances Tiafoe, Denis Shapovalov, and the oft-injured Matteo Berrettini are also in the top half of the bracket.
Alcaraz vs. Fritz is a possible championship matchup. Although the world No. 1 has prevailed in all of their traditional tournament matches, Fritz just upset him for the first time at the Laver Cup–in convincing 6-3, 6-2 fashion, too. The fifth-ranked American was the hero for a victorious Team World side all weekend long, so he has plenty of momentum heading into his Asia campaign. Fritz gets underway against dangerous Canadian Gabriel Diallo, while Rune, Tomas Machac, and Sebastian Korda also stand in his way of an expected final showdown against Alcaraz.
Hot: Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, Alejandro Tabilo, Luciano Darderi, Jaume Munar
Cold: Ugo Humbert, Frances Tiafoe, Matteo Berrettini, Sebastian Korda, Sebastian Baez, Yosuke Watanuki
Quarterfinal predictions: Carlos Alcaraz over Brandon Nakashima, Casper Ruud over Daniel Altmaier, Jenson Brooksby over Alex Michelsen, and Taylor Fritz over Tomas Machac
Semifinals: Alcaraz over Ruud and Fritz over Brooksby
Final: Alcaraz over Fritz
who ya got?
Has Zverev withdrawn? Or injured ?