Japan Open Preview 2026: Everything You Need to Know
The Japan Open has a long history on the ATP Tour, and the 2026 edition will once again bring an ATP 500 event to the Ariake Tennis Forest in the Japanese capital.
The 2026 Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships features a strong field led by defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, alongside Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Lorenzo Musetti and Casper Ruud.
The tournament will also be an especially significant occasion for Japanese fans, with Kei Nishikori set to make his final Japan Open appearance before ending his ATP Tour career at the conclusion of the 2026 season.
With qualifying beginning on 28 September and the main draw running from 30 September to 6 October, the tournament is one of the key events of the early Asian swing. Here is everything you need to know about the schedule, venue, players, previous champion and prize money.
When Is The Japan Tennis Open?
The 2026 Japan Tennis Open qualifying tournament takes place on Monday 28 and Tuesday 29 September, followed by the main draw from Wednesday 30 September through Tuesday 6 October 2026. The event is an ATP 500 tournament and features a 32-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw.
The official schedule lists singles and doubles matches across the opening days of the main draw, with the tournament continuing through the final on 6 October.
Exact order of play can change during the tournament, so anyone planning to watch a particular player should check the official schedule and order of play close to the match.
Where Is The Japan Tennis Open Held?
The Japan Open is held at the Ariake Colosseum and the surrounding courts at Ariake Tennis Forest Park in Tokyo. The official address is 2-2-22 Ariake, Koto-ku, Tokyo, and the tournament uses outdoor hard courts.
Ariake Colosseum is the tournament’s main stadium and is equipped with a retractable roof, allowing organisers to manage play when weather conditions become difficult. Matches are also played on courts within the wider Ariake Tennis Forest complex.
For international viewers, Tokyo operates on Japan Standard Time, which is eight hours ahead of UK time during the September and October portion of the tournament. That makes some sessions particularly early for British viewers, depending on the scheduled start time.
Who Won The Japan Tennis Open 2025?
Carlos Alcaraz won the 2025 Japan Open, defeating Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4 in the singles final. It was Alcaraz’s first appearance at the Tokyo ATP 500 and his eighth ATP Tour title of the 2025 season.
The final featured the top two seeds, with Alcaraz recovering from his defeat to Fritz at the Laver Cup nine days earlier. The Spaniard secured the decisive breaks late in each set and became the 2025 champion without dropping a set during the tournament.
Alcaraz therefore returns to Tokyo in 2026 as the defending singles champion. His presence is one of the major storylines surrounding this year’s event.
Who Is Playing In The 2026 Japan Tennis Open?
The official 2026 entry list is headed by Carlos Alcaraz, who was ranked No. 3 on the 31 August ranking date used for the tournament entry list. Other leading entrants include Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Rafael Jodar, Lorenzo Musetti, Brandon Nakashima, Jiri Lehecka, Casper Ruud and Tommy Paul.
The field also includes Luciano Darderi, Valentin Vacherot, Joao Fonseca, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Alejandro Tabilo, Ugo Humbert, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Arthur Fery, Alexander Blockx, Matteo Arnaldi and Zizou Bergs. Denis Shapovalov and Holger Rune are also listed, while two-time Japan Open champion Kei Nishikori has received a wild card for what is scheduled to be his final appearance at the tournament.
Qualifying takes place on 28 and 29 September and gives additional players the opportunity to earn places in the 32-player main draw. Wild cards are also used to accommodate selected players who do not qualify for direct entry based on their ranking.
What Is The Prize Money at the Japan Tennis Open?
The total prize money for the 2026 Japan Open is US$2,342,275. The tournament is an ATP 500 event, with the singles champion receiving 500 ATP ranking points and the runner-up receiving 330 points.
The official tournament information currently confirms the total purse but does not provide a published round-by-round prize-money breakdown. Consequently, figures previously quoted for the champion, runner-up, semi-finalists and quarter-finalists should not be presented as confirmed 2026 amounts.
For comparison, the 2025 tournament had a total singles prize of US$1,818,380, with the champion receiving US$416,365 and the runner-up US$224,035. The 2026 total financial commitment is higher, but the exact distribution between individual rounds should be taken from the official breakdown once published.
The tournament’s prize money and ranking points provide an important incentive during the Asian swing, particularly for players competing for year-end ranking positions.
Who Is Favourite To Win The Japan Tennis Open?
Carlos Alcaraz enters the 2026 Japan Open as the defending champion and is the highest-ranked player on the official tournament entry list, at No. 3 based on the 31 August ranking date. Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz are the next-highest-ranked entrants on that list, followed by Frances Tiafoe and Rafael Jodar.
Alcaraz has the added distinction of having already won the tournament, while Fritz was the 2025 runner-up and Shelton is a former Japan Open champion, having won the Tokyo title in 2023.
Betting odds can change before the tournament because of withdrawals, player availability, form and market activity. Anyone following the betting markets should therefore check the latest prices rather than relying on an early assessment. Understanding how odds and markets move can help explain changes in bookmakers’ prices during the build-up and throughout the tournament.
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