Prestigious 500s Heat Up Year-End Race in Tennis

The tennis world is transitioning from the Asian swing to the season-ending championships, with three prestigious 500s taking center stage this week.

Erste Bank Open (ATP)

Alexander Zverev, the top seed in Vienna, is not the player with the most at stake. The ATP's No. 3 has already secured a spot in the season-ending championships in Turin. However, several players are vying for the remaining five spots, including Alex de Minaur, Tommy Paul, Grigor Dimitrov, Frances Tiafoe, Lorenzo Musetti, and Jack Draper.

The tournament will also mark the end of Dominic Thiem's career. The 31-year-old Austrian will play in front of his home-country fans for the last time.

Swiss Indoors Basel (ATP)

Unlike in Vienna, no player in Basel has secured a spot in the ATP Finals. Top seeds Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev are currently seventh and eighth in the race to Turin, while Stefanos Tsitsipas and Holger Rune are 12th and 15th, respectively.

Two-time defending champion Felix Auger Aliassime is also in the field and could face Ruud in the third round.

Toray Pan Pacific Open (WTA)

The Pan Pacific Open has been a WTA institution since 1973. This year, Zheng Qinwen is the top seed, but the tournament took a hit when Naomi Osaka withdrew with a back injury.

The WTA's race to Riyadh has already been run, so Tokyo will be tennis for its own sake. Beatriz Haddad Maia, Daria Kasatkina, Anna Kalinskaya, and Paula Badosa are among the other seeds.

Guangzhou Open (WTA)

Rounding out the week is the Guangzhou Open, a late entrant in the Asian swing. The top two seeds are Czech mates Katerina Siniakova and Marie Bouzkova.

Tags: #ATP, #WTA, #Vienna, #Basel, #Tokyo