Players stay busy in the first week of the new season: Asin tours with exhibitions, Djokovic warms up in Australia…

The new season is approaching fast. Our players have kept busy, with three tournaments happening concurrently in the opening week of the year: the United Cup, Brisbane, and Hong Kong tournaments.

Today’s big news is that Djokovic will join the Adelaide tournament. The Serbian ace’s plan is obvious—he opts to play a warm-up event ahead of the Australian Open to get accustomed to the venue and push for his eleventh crown at the Slam.

Among the top thirty players, those competing in Brisbane include Medvedev, Davydenko, Paul, Shapovalov, Fonseca, Tiafoe, Lajovic, Norrie, and the defending champion Lehecka.

The Hong Kong tournament attracts two of the three Russian musketeers, Rublev and Khachanov. Also featured is Musetti, who entered the world top ten for the first time this year. After a turbulent season on court, it remains to be seen how he will be received in his homeland. Other players include Bublik, who won the China season championship this year.

The United Cup, a prestigious team event, has drawn many players including the top Americans Fritz, Germany’s Zverev, Canada’s Auger-Aliassime, Norway’s Ruud, Italy’s Copil, Australia’s De Minaur, Czech Republic’s Menšík, and the Netherlands’ Griekspoor.

These players are frequent representatives of their national teams. Fritz once led the U.S. to a United Cup victory, while young talents Auger-Aliassime and Copil have both captained their countries to team championships. Especially Copil, who almost single-handedly led Italy to defend their Davis Cup title amid the controversy caused by Sinner’s absence.

Additionally, the highly anticipated duo Alcaraz and Sinner will team up to play an exhibition match in South Korea. After the event, they will fly to Australia to prepare for the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open, starting a week later.

Some fans joked that seeing the neighboring country hosting lively tournaments while South Korea has none, the locals decided to invest heavily in a star-studded exhibition match, which should guarantee a strong box office turnout.

Among the top thirty players, aside from Rune who is recovering from surgery, only Shelton and Darderi have yet to confirm their schedules.

There is a Chinese saying: “Start the new year with a good omen!” Who will seize the top spot in the two lower-tier tournaments in the first week? How will Djokovic perform? Will Fokina claim her first title right away? Let’s wait and see!(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Luo Cheng Qiye)