CHENGDU, July 24, 2019 (Press Release)

In 2016, the Chengdu Open became the newest stop on the worldwide tennis tour and very soon it became a favoured stop on the Asian Swing of the ATP tour. It is therefore with great expectation that tournament organisers have launched the fourth edition of the Chengdu Open, promising to treat the city to sensational tennis all over again in late September.

The leading city in the Sichuan Province of China, with its fantastic cuisine and attractions, Chengdu is thrilled to once again host the US$ 1,213,295 Chengdu Open, held from 21 to 29 September 2019 at the intimate and always welcoming Sichuan International Tennis Centre.

The tournament is proud to welcome an exciting mix of big names and rising talent to the event, along with all our loyal partners, sponsors and fans that have helped to put the tournament on the map.

Tournament director Luiz Carvalho returns to helm the ATP 250 Series event: “Last year it was with great pleasure and excitement that I made my debut as the Chengdu Open tournament director and it gives me a tremendous thrill to be back in 2019. This is a tournament with a relaxed feel, where players are comfortable, whether on-site or at the stunning hotel, which is one of the finest on tour.”

Carvalho took the opportunity to announce some of the intriguing early entries that fans are sure to get excited about.

“This year we are very happy to name our marquee players; American John Isner will be making his first trip to our city and local tennis fans are going to be mesmerised by this giant of the game. Canadian teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime is returning for the second straight year but this year he comes in as one of the hottest properties in world tennis,” 

“Meanwhile, one of our all-time favourites Bulgarian, Grigor Dimitrov, who has been incredibly popular with our patrons, has also confirmed his participation in Chengdu,” Carvalho said, with assurance that the tournament will once again provide the excellent player and fan services that it has become known for.

“The Chengdu Open has prided itself on accommodating the players needs as well as the needs of our fans. All that will certainly remain the same or better this year. We want everyone associated with the tournament to feel at home. We are the biggest annual international sporting event in south west China, and we are proud of that.”

Fans can look forward to a great variety of tennis styles and personalities on show this year.

John Isner has enjoyed a remarkable career. At nearly two metres tall, he is one of the tallest players in world tennis and there have been many milestones during his professional days, including having played in the longest Wimbledon semi-final ever. The 34-year-old has 15 career titles, the biggest coming in 2018 at the Miami Open, along with 13 career finals.

In 2019, Isner recently won the final grass event of the season the Hall of Fame Championships in Newport, Rhode Island, for the fourth time, he was a finalist for the second year running in Miami and a semi-finalist in New York, Delray Beach and Acapulco. His most famous stroke is his serve – he has won 92% of service games, powered down about 11,500 aces and on hardcourt, which is the surface of the Chengdu Open, he has hit almost 8,000 aces.

Married with one young daughter, John recently revealed he will be a father for a second time later this year, this time to a baby boy.

Men’s tennis right now is very fortunate to have some incredibly thrilling players, with one of those most definitely being 18-year-old Monegasque residing Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Ranked at No. 23 and definitely on the rise, the teenager has already reached three finals this year, in Lyon, Rio and Stuttgart on clay and grass. In Rio he defeated 2018 Chengdu Open finalist Fabio Fognini. He was a semi-finalist from the qualifying rounds in Miami, defeating Borna Coric en route and was a quarterfinalist in Sao Paulo.  He has twice notched stunning wins over Stefanos Tsitsipas, and also defeated Nick Kyrgios, Gilles Simon and Denis Shapovalov.

His model good looks and fluid game of Grigor Dimitrov gained him a big following on his previous visit to the tournament. The 28-year-old, who reached a career high of No.3 in the world, is one of the nicest people in tennis and has eight career titles, the biggest being the season-ending ATP Finals in London, and seven other finals to his name.

In 2019, he was a quarterfinalist in Brisbane and made the round of 16 at the Australian Open, Monte Carlo and Barcelona.

Liu Wenbin, Director of Tennis Administration Center of the General Administration of Sport of China and Deputy Chairman of the Chinese Tennis Association said: “Like the last three years, we are again delighted to be part of the Chengdu Open. The tournament has already attracted some great marquee names and we look forward to all the excitement and action that will take place at the Sichuan International Tennis Centre.”

The Chengdu Sports Bureau are again excited to welcome this important sporting event to the region, with so many international athletes playing tennis in Chengdu, bringing the sport closer to the residents. Chengdu Sports Bureau look forward to working closely with the organising committee and another successful tournament.

There will be free admission to qualifying round matches and court 1 and 2 matches. Tickets for the Chengdu Open main draw center court matches through to the finals are available through www.damai.cn or national hotline 10103721.  The tournament continues to offer promotions to the fans.  Flash sales of RMB 9 per ticket for all the 3F grandstand seats between July 25 and August 2.  A 70% and 50% discount will be applied on all ticket sales (except VIP suite) between July 25 and August 8 and between August 9 and 29 respectively.

The tournament is owned by IMG and is organized by the Chinese Tennis Association and Chengdu Municipal Government, is co-organized 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 distinguished support from ATP World Tour’s Premier Partner Emirates, the official player hotel St. Regis Chengdu, which fast became a favourite of the players, Dunlop tennis balls, the official water VOSS, the Sichuan Tennis International Hotel, which is conveniently located adjacent to the courts and provides efficient services to the tournament, the exclusive official digital media partner Iqiyi Sports and the official stringer Yonex.

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