CHENGDU, September 5, 2023 (Press Release)

Tennis in Asia is back and the 5th edition of the Chengdu Open will launch the 2023 Asian Swing of tournaments on the celebrated ATP Tour. From 19-26 September 2023, the Sichuan International Tennis Centre will once again echo with the hypnotic thumps of  tennis balls connecting with racquet strings as both familiar and new faces compete for honours in this 250 level tournament at Sichuan Province’s most dynamic city.

Chengdu has become a popular destination on the tennis circuit for many players, with the enthusiastic response from thousands of local fans making the city even more inviting for tennis stars. 

It was in 2018 that Luiz Carvalho made his debut as Tournament Director of the Chengdu Open and found himself fascinated with the vibrancy of the region and the passion shown by fans.

“So much has developed since my first visit to Asia, and becoming the tournament director here has allowed me to set up a base in the region,” Carvalho said. “Asia continues to make steady progress in tennis and I am proud and delighted to lead the Chengdu Open and continue to help write the successful history of our sports in the region.

“This is an intimate tournament with a personal touch that makes players feel relaxed and welcome, whether on-site or at the wonderful official hotel.”

The tournament announced today, in what is a first for the Chengdu Open, that an Olympic singles gold medallist, Alexander Zverev, will be joining the lineup. This will be an amazing opportunity for fans to watch this incredibly talented player, who is back to playing at the highest level after his ankle injury at the 2022 French Open. Zverev has been ranked as high as number two in the world and has won some very big titles in his career, including the season-ending ATP Finals, but winning the gold in Tokyo was a very special career milestone for him. He has also been a finalist at the US Open and a semi-finalist at the Australian and French Open.

The lineup also includes 2019 semi-finalist Grigor Dimitrov, one of the most popular players among his peers, who will be making his third appearance at the tournament. Dimitrov reached a career high ranking of No. 3, with the biggest of his eight career titles being the season-ending ATP Finals in 2017, where he prevailed with a perfect 5-0 record, becoming the first debutant to do that since 1978. Possessing one of the most beautiful single-handed backhands, Grigor can devastate any opponent on his day, and has recorded impressive wins over the likes of Djokovic, Roger Federer and Nick Kyrgios. 

Two players will be making their Chengdu debut this year. One of them is former finalist at the 2014 US Open, Kei Nishikori, who has been awarded a wild card. The other is one of the most exciting youngsters on the ATP Tour, Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti. 

It’s been a tough couple of years for Nishikori, the Japanese super star who has been sidelined by injuries. However, the former US Open finalist, who reached  a career high ranking of number four, is well and truly back and looking forward to extending his career by a few more years. The 33-year-old is bound to garner plenty of fan support in Chengdu. 

When it comes to single-handed backhands, Musetti’s name can certainly be added to the list. The 21-year-old has reached a career high ranking of No. 15 this summer, and is the youngest of the initial entries for this year’s Chengdu Open. A former junior world No. 1, Lorenzo’s growing professional resume already includes wins over Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud.

The tournament is also pleased to welcome back Alexander Bublik, a finalist at the Chengdu Open in 2019, who this year won his first career title on the grass courts of Halle, Germany. The Kazakh is one of the most charismatic and entertaining players on the tour.

At the time of the entry deadline, a total of 22 players have confirmed their participation in the main draw event, with 21 direct acceptances at a cutoff ranking of No.79 and Nishikori awarded the first of three wild cards. 

“We speak on behalf of all tennis fans in Chengdu when we say how happy we are to see the Chengdu Open returning to our city,” Yang Shenwei, Secretary of Party Committee of Chengdu Sports Bureau said. “The Chengdu Open tennis tournament is very important to our city and significantly bolsters our sporting heritage.

“We look forward to welcoming these top tennis players to our city and hope many of our first-time visitors will get the opportunity to visit some of the attractions. It is always a pleasure working alongside IMG as well as the organising committee, and we look forward to another successful tournament.”

Ticket sales for the Chengdu Open 2023 will commence from September 6th and can be purchased via www.damai.cn.  Tickets to the qualifying round matches, which start on 19th September, will be complimentary while main draw centre court tickets from 20th September to the finals on 26th September will range in price from RMB 50 to RMB 400.

“The Chinese Tennis Association is very happy to be part of the Chengdu Open once again. As always, the tournament organisers have confirmed some great names and we look forward to the action that will unfold at the Sichuan International Tennis Centre,” Bai Xilin, Vice Chairman of Chinese Tennis Association, Party Secretary and Deputy Director of Tennis Management Center of State Sports of General Administration said.

The tournament is owned by IMG and is organised by the Chinese Tennis Association and Chengdu Municipal Government, is co-organised by Chengdu Sports Bureau, Shuangliu District Government and Chengdu Culture Tourism Group, and is promoted by Sichuan Investment International Tennis Centre Development Co., Ltd., CCTV IMG (Beijing) Sports Management Co. Ltd. and WME IMG China Culture Development Co. Ltd.

The Chengdu Open is also very proud to have the support of our distinguished partners, including the ATP Tour’s Premier Partner Emirates, the official ball and stringer Yonex, the official car FAW-Volkswagen, the Sichuan Tennis International Hotel, which is conveniently located adjacent to the courts and provides efficient services to the tournament, the official timer Luminox, the official player hotel Intercontinental Chengdu Global Center, the official coffee provider Wood & Coffee, the official gym equipment Impulse and the official water Su Lao Quan.

The official tournament website www.ChengduOpenTennis.com has additional information about the tournament.