The City of Playford Tennis International is set to return with Australians Jordan Thompson (NSW), Li Tu (SA) and James Duckworth (NSW) to lead the men’s field at the fourth edition of the event taking place at the Playford Tennis Centre from 23 to 30 October 2022.
The three will be joined by a strong international field when the tournament kicks off in a week’s time. The Australian Pro Tour event, a combined Men’s ATP Challenger and Women’s ITF World Tennis Tour tournament, will offer a total prize pool of more than AUD $200,000 and valuable world ranking points.
World No.85 Thompson is coming to Playford in good form having won two ATP Challenger Tour titles this year including Surbiton, Great Britain in May and Columbus, USA just a little over three weeks ago. Thompson reached the second rounds at Wimbledon and the US Open this year.
Leading the South Australian charge will be 26-year-old Tu who is set to play in his maiden ATP Challenger Tour final against Yibing Wu (CHN) in Seoul, South Korea this afternoon.
After a six year break following his junior career, Tu returned to competition in 2020, made his Australian Open singles debut in 2021 and reached a career high ranking of 252 in August of this year. He will be looking to continue his rise through the professional ranks as he makes his City of Playford Tennis International debut with the support of his hometown crowd.
Making his return to the Playford Tennis Centre courts will be defending champion Duckworth. Duckworth reached the final of the ATP Challenger Tour event Cassis, France last month and will be looking to start his Australian summer off strong as he returns to Playford.
2022 Wimbledon doubles champion, 2022 Australian Open doubles runner up and 2019 City of Playford Tennis International doubles champion Max Purcell (NSW) will also join the singles field.
The 21 direct acceptances including four players from inside the world’s top 200 will be joined by three wildcards and six qualifiers, with main draw matches beginning on Monday 24 October.
City of Playford Tennis International
Player acceptance list as at 16 October 2022
Rankings as at 3 October 2022
| ATP rank | First name | Last name | Nationality |
| 84 | Jordan | Thompson | AUS |
| 109 | James | Duckworth | AUS |
| 129 | Aleksandar | Vukic | AUS |
| 194 | Rinky | Hijikata | AUS |
| 247 | Dane | Sweeny | AUS |
| 253 | Hiroki | Moriya | JPN |
| 274 | Omar | Jasika | AUS |
| 291 | Rio | Noguchi | JPN |
| 296 | Max | Purcell | AUS |
| 298 | Li | Tu | AUS |
| 314 | Yasutaka | Uchiyama | JPN |
| 350 | Prajnesh | Gunneswaran | IND |
| 370 | Marek | Gengel | CZE |
| 371 | Mukund | Sasikumar | IND |
| 383 | Yu Hsiou | Hsu | TPE |
| 405 | Kyle | Seelig | USA |
| 423 | James | McCabe | AUS |
| 440 | Tristan | Schoolkate | AUS |
| 451 | Yuta | Shimizu | JPN |
| 485 | Adam | Walton | AUS |
| 512 | Dayne | Kelly | AUS |
Please note: list is subject to change
The City of Playford Tennis International is part of the Australian Pro Tour, a series of professional tennis events held throughout the year to bridge upcoming players with the ATP/WTA Tour, providing an opportunity to earn significant world ranking points.
Join the conversation using #PlayfordProTour
For more information about the Australian Pro Tour, Tennis Australia or the players visit www.tennis.com.au/protour. For more information on the ATP Challenger Tour go to www.atptour.com or for more information on the ITF World Tennis Tour visit www.itftennis.com.
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