The 2025 Hangzhou Open arrives as the ATP returns to Asia for its autumn swing, with a notable entry list for an ATP 250 event. The tournament, staged again after its 2024 edition in which Marin Cilic defeated Zhang Zhizhen in the final, will take place in the 8,000-seat stadium and promises a compact week of singles action.

Top seed duties fall to world No 14 Andrey Rublev, who is entered at the event for the first time. He is joined at the head of the field by compatriot Daniil Medvedev, a former world No 1 who is competing in his first tournament under new coach Thomas Johansson. Medvedev has dropped to 18th in the ATP Rankings this season and is opting to focus on ATP events rather than other team competitions.

Alexander Bublik, ranked No 19, is also entered and arrives on the back of his best season to date, targeting a fourth title of 2025. The quartet of top seeds is completed by world No 39 Corentin Moutet, the only other top-40 player currently in the entry list.

Seeds five through eight include Camilo Ugo Carabelli, Roberto Bautista Agut, Adrian Mannarino and Learner Tien. Defending champion Marin Cilic returns to defend his title, and Matteo Berrettini is among those listed as making a comeback following recent injury issues. Other names in the entry list include Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Damir Dzumhur, Aleksandar Kovacevic, Matteo Arnaldi and David Goffin, among others.

As an ATP 250 tournament, the champion will receive 250 ranking points. While the ATP has not published an updated round-by-round points table for 2025, last year’s distribution awarded 165 points to the runner-up, 100 to semifinalists, 50 to quarterfinalists, 25 to second-round winners and no points for a first-round exit. The event carries a total prize-money purse of $1,019,185, up slightly from 2024; Cilic earned $152,240 for lifting the title last year.

The 28-player main draw begins on Wednesday, September 17 and concludes with the final on Tuesday, September 23. The top four seeds—Rublev, Medvedev, Bublik and Moutet—will receive byes into the second round. Wildcards and qualifiers will be confirmed ahead of the draw ceremony.

Alex Eala arrives in Sao Paulo carrying the momentum she has built through 2025. The 20-year-old, fresh from a historic WTA 125 Guadalajara title that returned her inside the top 65, extended her winning streak to six with a commanding 6-0, 6-2 victory over qualifier Yasmine Mansouri at the SP Open. Eala is seeded third in the field and now faces a step up in difficulty in round two.

Her opponent will be world No 188 Julia Riera, who impressed in round one with a straight-sets win over Vitalia Diatchenko. Riera reached a career-high ranking of No 93 in May 2024 and has Grand Slam experience after coming through qualifying to make her main-draw debut at Roland Garros in 2024, where she lost in round one. She qualified again in 2025 and forced Elena Rybakina to three sets. Riera also made her Wimbledon debut in 2024 and her Australian Open debut in 2025 but has never progressed into the US Open main draw.

Riera has collected seven ITF Tour titles and enters Sao Paulo with an 18-17 record for 2025. Her best result this year was a semi-final run at the WTA 250 Copa Colsanitas in Bogota in April, though she had been on a three-match losing streak before beating Diatchenko earlier this week.

This will be the third meeting between Eala and Riera, with their head-to-head locked at one win apiece. Riera beat Eala in three sets in the third round of French Open qualifying in 2024, and Eala returned the favour with a straight-sets win in Cary later that season. Sao Paulo will host their first hard-court meeting.

If Eala advances she would likely meet Janice Tjen or Marina Okal’ova in the quarter-finals; Tjen notably qualified at the US Open and upset Veronika Kudermetova in New York, and in Sao Paulo she defeated seventh seed Leolia Jeanjean in round one. A semi-final clash could pit Eala against second seed Solana Sierra, while a potential final opponent is top seed Beatriz Haddad Maia, the former world No 10. Riera represents a clearer test than Mansouri, but Eala remains the favourite to progress.

Alex Eala extended her unbeaten run to six matches with a commanding start at the SP Open, following a breakthrough weekend at the Guadalajara 125. The 20-year-old carried momentum from her maiden WTA singles title into the top-tier event, beating Yasmine Mansouri 6-0, 6-2 in 76 minutes.

Eala broke Mansouri three times in the opening set and twice in the second to secure a decisive victory. The win arrived with Eala seeded third in the draw and earned her a two-spot climb in the Live Rankings, moving from No 61 to No 59. She has previously peaked at No 56 in the WTA Rankings.

“This is my first time in Brazil and my first time in South America, actually, so I’m so happy to see that the crowd is so lively,” Eala said after the match. “I didn’t expect so many people to come out and watch me play. I guess I was a bit lucky to be sandwiched in between two great Brazilians, so I’m just happy to be here and to be able to play well.”

Tuesday at Parque Villa-Lobos also belonged to the top seed Beatriz Hadda Maia, who delighted home fans with a 6-1, 6-1 win over qualifier Miriana Tona. The SP Open is making its debut on the WTA Tour and is the first top-level women’s tournament in Brazil since 2016.

Eala can still improve her ranking further this week. A victory over Julia Riera in the second round would lift her to No 55; Riera, currently No 188 in the Official WTA Rankings, reached the round of 32 by defeating Vitalia Diatchenko in straight sets. Projections in the draw suggest Eala could face Janice Tjen in the quarter-final and, if results follow seedings, second seed Solana Sierra in the semi-final.

A run to the final or a title would produce larger jumps, with a championship potentially moving Eala as high as No 42. A Rafa Nadal Academy graduate, Eala reached the Miami Open semi-final earlier this season, made her Grand Slam debut at Roland Garros and recorded her first major match win at the US Open after first-round exits at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.