Japan Open 2022: Men's draw, schedule, players, prize money breakdown and more
The ATP tour will head to Tokyo after a gap of three years and the 2022 Japan Open will be held in the country's capital from October 3-9.
World No. 2 Casper Ruud leads the pack as the top seed. The 23-year old is enjoying a career-best season, highlighted by a couple of runner-up finishes at the Majors. Despite all his success, he is yet to win a title beyond the ATP 250 level and will be aiming to remedy that here.
World No. 8 Cameron Norrie is the second seed, with Americans Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe rounding off the top four seeds. 2022 Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios, along with compatriots Alex de Minaur and Thanasi Kokkinakis, are also in the main draw.
Denis Shapovalov, Dan Evans, Borna Coric and Brandon Nakashima are in the mix as well. It's set to be an action-packed week in Tokyo, so here's all the relevant information about the Japan Open:
What is the Japan Open?
The Japan Open has been a regular pitstop on the men's circuit since its debut in 1973. Earlier, it was known as the Tokyo Outdoor Grand Prix and was included in the Grand Prix Tennis Tour until 1989. Since then, it has become a part of the ATP Tour and has been classified as an ATP 500 tournament.
Stefan Edberg holds the record for most titles here with four, followed by Pete Sampras with three. Other prominent names to win the tournament include Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, among others. The Serb is also the defending champion, but has chosen to participate in the Astana Open this week.
Venue
The tournament will take place at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo, Japan.
Players
Top seed Casper Ruud headlines the top half of the draw and will begin his campaign against Jaume Munar in the first round. He could meet sixth seed Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinals.
Fourth seed Frances Tiafoe and eighth seed Dan Evans are in this half as well. They're up against Yasutaka Uchiyama and Radu Albot respectively in the opening round. Miomir Kecmanovic's match against Yoshihito Nishioka will be another first-round encounter to keep an eye on.
Second seed Cameron Norrie leads the bottom half of the draw and will face Thanasi Kokkinakis in the first round. The Brit's on a collision course with seventh seed Denis Shapovalov, who'll take on Steve Johnson in the opening round.
Fifth seed Nick Kyrgios was drawn against Chun-Hsin Tseng in the first round, while third seed Taylor Fritz is up against James Duckworth. Also in this half of the draw are Brandon Nakashima and Borna Coric.
Schedule
The qualifying rounds start on October 1 and will continue the next day as well. The main draw begins on Monday, October 3, with the first and second matches being played until Thursday, October 6.
The quarterfinals, semifinals and finals will take place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Prize Money
The total prize money for this year's edition of the Japan Open is $1,953,285. The winner will receive a cheque worth $365,275 along with 500 ranking points. Here's a detailed breakdown of the prize money and ranking points:
Where to watch
Viewers in the US, UK, Australia and Canada can watch the Japan Open live on the following channels and sites:
USA: All matches will be broadcast on Tennis Channel.
UK: British fans can watch the matches on Amazon Prime Video.
Australia: All matches will be telecast on beIN Sports.
Canada: Viewers in Canada can watch all the matches on TSN.
For more information regarding the broadcast of matches, click here.