Participants of the 2026 Hangzhou Open. [Photo/Hangzhou News]

The 2026 Hangzhou Open will be held from Sept 22 to 29 at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Tennis Center, known as the "Little Lotus," with former world No 1 and 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev set to return for his second consecutive year.

The tournament, now in its third edition, will open the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour's China swing, with other confirmed players including former Hangzhou Open champion Marin Cilic, Andrey Rublev, Karen Khachanov, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, and Alex Michelsen.

French player Luca Van Assche, a former world No 1 junior, will also make his Hangzhou debut after winning his first ATP Tour title this season. Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis is another player to watch after he famously upset then-world No 1 Roger Federer at the 2018 Miami Open and won his first ATP Tour singles title in Adelaide in 2022. After recovering from injuries, he returned to the tour this season and earned a Grand Slam singles victory at the French Open.

Ahead of the tournament, a three-day ball-kid training camp selected 60 participants from more than 100 applicants to serve at the event, allowing them closer interactions with these international tennis stars.