Former world No.4 Kei Nishikori (JPN), hometown hero Thanasi Kokkinakis (Adelaide, SA) and defending champion Rinky Hijikata (Sydney, NSW) will lead the men’s field at the City of Playford Tennis International at the Playford Tennis Centre from Sunday 22 to Sunday 29 October 2023.
The Australian Pro Tour event, a combined men’s ATP Challenger 75 and women’s ITF World Tennis Tour W60 tournament will offer a total prize pool of more than AUD $200,000 and valuable world ranking points.
Nishikori returns to Australia for the first time since 2021. He reached the US Open final in 2014, has appeared in nine Grand Slam quarterfinals and has won 12 career titles. After a two year break due to injury, Nishikori is on the comeback trail and recently won the Palmas Del Mar ATP Challenger tournament in Puerto Rico in June, the first player to win an ATP Challenger without a ranking.
Kokkinakis, the world No.69, will play in Adelaide for the first time since the summer where he claimed his first victory over a top 10 opponent in five years, defeating then world No.6 Andrey Rublev at the Adelaide International.
Hijikata will return to Playford with fond memories as he returns to the scene of his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title in 2022. Since that breakthrough victory, Hijikata claimed the Australian Open men’s doubles title with Jason Kubler and reached a career high ranking of 72.
The field also includes South Australians Li Tu, Alex Bolt and Luke Saville, as well as James Duckworth (NSW) and Tristan Schoolkate (WA).
“This star-studded men’s and women’s player list is testament to the City of Playford Tennis International’s reputation of being a champion maker – it’s certainly becoming a destination tournament. It’s great to see a strong list of South Australian players including the high-profile Thanasi Kokkinakis who can inspire the next generation of local tennis players,” City of Playford Mayor Glenn Docherty said.
“Council’s world class facility, the Playford Tennis Centre in the heart of the Playford Sports Precinct, accompanied with our passionate sporting community and delivery of major tennis events, has solidified Playford as the home of tennis in the north.
“I encourage everyone to attend the free eight-day tournament and witness some truly spectacular tennis.”
The 21 direct acceptances including four players from inside the world’s top 100 will be joined by three wildcards and six qualifiers, with main draw matches beginning on Monday 23 October.
City of Playford Tennis International
Player acceptance list as at 12 October 2023
Ranking date: 2 October 2023
| ATP rank | First name | Last name | Nationality |
| 48 | Kei | Nishikori | JPN |
| 69 | Thanasi | Kokkinakis | AUS |
| 75 | Rinky | Hijikata | AUS |
| 97 | Taro | Daniel | JPN |
| 135 | Sho | Shimabukuro | JPN |
| 139 | James | Duckworth | AUS |
| 140 | Marc | Polmans | AUS |
| 148 | Terence | Atmane | FRA |
| 198 | Seongchan | Hong | KOR |
| 200 | Li | Tu | AUS |
| 201 | Shintaro | Mochizuki | JPN |
| 246 | Yuta | Shimizu | JPN |
| 263 | Henri | Squire | GER |
| 268 | James | McCabe | AUS |
| 270 | Kaichi | Uchida | JPN |
| 272 | Tristan | Schookate | AUS |
| 273 | Dane | Sweeny | AUS |
| 277 | Rio | Noguchi | JPN |
| 286 | Alex | Bolt | AUS |
| 298 | Philip | Sekulic | AUS |
| 299 | Luke | Saville | 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.
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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