ATP Tour:
Washington 500, USA:
In a combined ATP/WTA 500 event, Washington is one of the early lead-in events for the US Open. Nick Kyrgios has won two of the last three titles here, but as we know, we won’t see him defending his crown.
We will see plenty of other Aussies though. Aleksandar Vukic enters on the back of his stellar week in Atlanta. Max Purcell, Jordan Thompson, and Thanasi Kokkinakis will all be flying the flag for more Australian silverware.
Kitzbuhel 250, Austria:
One of the best stadiums, in one of the best locations, Kitzbuhel has been a staple on the tour for decades. We’ve had some of the best in the world holding the trophy, with Casper Ruud, Dominic Thiem, Juan Martin del Potro, Pete Sampras, and Thomas Muster, all winning here.
Compared to those names, the draw seems a bit weak this year, with no top 30 players. Tomas Martin Etcheverry is the top seed at a ranking of 34.
For the Aussies, Alexei Popyrin will be full of confidence, after taking his second title in Umag last week. He’ll be joined by Christopher O’Connell, who’s just shy of his career high ranking of 67.
Los Cabos 250, Mexico:
Beautifully located on the Mexican coast, this event is in its 7th year, and already has an honour board including Daniil Medvedev, Cameron Norrie, Fábio Fognini, and Diego Schwartzman.
Norrie is back this year as second seed, behind Stefanos Tsitsipas. Australians are prominent, with Alex de Minaur, Rinky Hijikata, and James Duckworth appearing here.
WTA Tour:
Washington 500, USA:
A strong draw, as with most 500 events on the WTA tour. Four top ten players, and a host of others with genuine chances this week. Jessica Pegula, Caroline Garcia, Coca Gauff, and Maria Sakkari are the top four seeds. But what about the 4 Wildcards…! Elina Svitolina, Bianca Andreescu, Danielle Collins, and Sofia Kenin could just as likely take out the title. Looks like a great week.
Prague 250, Czech Republic:
The 250 events really miss out by not allowing the best players to play them, and let’s hope that rule is adjusted next year. Marie Bouzkova, ranked 29, is the top seed, and while she won’t have it all her own way, there are only three other players inside 70.
ATP Challenger Tour:
Porto 125, Portugal:
Two Frenchman take the top and bottom positions in the draw, Quentin Halys and Benjamin Bonzi. Halys has held his ranking around 60 all year, while Bonzi has slipped from inside the top 50, to outside the top 100. Local favourite, Gastão Elias gains a WC, and at 32 years of age, will be trying to work his way back from a ranking of 349, after being as high as 57.
San Marino 125, San Marino:
The best part of having a worldwide tennis tour, is the amazing locations you can watch tennis in. San Marino is another one! Holger Rune won her a couple of years ago, and while he won’t be back, you can see former top ten players, Fabio Fognini, and David Gordon. For the Aussies, Marc Polmans will be hoping to break a run of three first round losses.
Leudenscheid 100, Germany:
Quite a nice field here this week, with the top seed being the man who took down Carlos Alcaraz in Rome earlier in the year. Hungarian, Fabian Marozsan broke into the top 100 just before Wimbledon, and will be looking to take a title here to consolidate his ranking. No Aussies here, but the likes of Benoit Paire, Hugo Dellien, and Pedro Martinez, mean Marozsan won’t have it all his own way.
Liberec 75, Czech Republic:
Czech, Jiri Lehecka won this event last year, and just this week, he was the top seed at the 250 event in Umag. This year, there’s no one inside the top 100. Number one seed, Tomas Machac will be hoping to add another local name to the honour board. As will Wildcard, Jiri Vesely, who won here, ten years ago. Jiri is one of the only players on tour to have a winning record against Novak Djokovic!
Lexington 75, USA:
A long history of Aussie success here over the years. Most recently, Jason Kubler in 2022, but we’ve also had John Millman, James Duckworth, and Scott Draper back in 2002, take out the title.
As always with the US events, plenty of Aussie flavour this year too. Omar Jasika, Tristan Schoolkate, Bernard Tomic, Alex Bolt, Dane Sweeny, and Adam Walton, all looking for valuable ranking points to get them into US Open qualifying contention.
ITF Tour:
Five W60 events this week, so quite a few options for players.
For the Aussies, Kimberley Birrell and Olivia Gadecki will be at the Lexington event in the USA.
Priscilla Hon will be in Hechingen, Germany, and Arina Rodionova will be at the Barcelona event in Spain.
In Australia, for the second week running we have both a men’s and women’s 15K event up in Caloundra, where a host of Aussies will be fighting to breakthrough for a title on home soil.
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