Newly-crowned US Open champion Alexander Zverev will headline the China Open, but Jannik Sinner won’t return to defend his title.
World No 2 Zverev, who is looking to win the ATP 500 event for the first time in his career, will be the top seed in Sinner’s absence with world No 5 Felix Auger-Aliassime topping the seedings in the bottom half of the draw in Beijing.
Sinner has not played competitive tennis since winning Wimbledon in July as he missed the North American swing, including the US Open.
He announced his withdrawal from the Beijing tournament on Friday as he revealed “my knee is not where I would like it to be, and I’m not ready to compete yet”.
How Many Players Will Feature At The China Open?
The event is a 32-player singles draw tournament with four players earning an entry via a wildcard and three reaching the main draw through the qualifying stage.
The top eight players in the rankings at the time of the draw will be seeded, but there are no byes into the second round.
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Zverev leads Auger-Aliassime, Daniil Medvedev, Flavio Cobolli, Alex de Minaur, Novak Djokovic, Learnier Tien and Jakub Mensik.
24-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic is looking to win his seventh China Open title and first tournament in 2026, but he will feature at the tournament for the first time since 2015. Should the 39-year-old go on to win the title, he will become the oldest player to win the event, beating Rafael Nadal, who was 31 when he lifted the crown in 2017.
The China Open is only his eighth tournament of the 2026 season and the first outside of the Grand Slams and ATP Masters 1000 events.
Djokovic is the only former player in the draw following Sinner’s withdrawal with Tien (2025) and Medvedev (2023) among the former runners-up.
When Is The Draw?
The draw is set for Monday, 30 September in Beijing.
Points And Prize Money On Offer At China Open…
The prize pot for the 2026 China Open has increased to $4,089,385 and last year Sinner earned $751,075 and Tien $404,105.
