The Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open provides local players with a rare chance to test themselves against some of the world’s best athletes on home soil, offering invaluable match experience and exposure at the highest level of the sport. The tournament has long served as an important pathway for emerging Hong Kong talents, allowing them to accelerate their development through direct competition with established international stars.

This year, Adithya Karunaratne has been awarded a main draw singles wild card, which will be her debut at a WTA tour-level tournament. Meanwhile, fellow local players Cody Wong and Yandy Shek will begin their campaigns in the qualifying competition, where they will look to earn their place in the main draw against a strong field of international contenders. In addition, Karunaratne and Shek will pair up in the doubles main draw, having been awarded a wildcard.

Their participation highlights the tournament’s commitment to supporting homegrown talent and creating meaningful opportunities for Hong Kong players to showcase their abilities on one of the region’s biggest tennis stages. Competing alongside world-class professionals not only provides invaluable experience but also inspires the next generation of local athletes, reinforcing the event’s role in the continued growth and development of tennis in Hong Kong.

With a career high ranking of 278, Adithya Karunaratne has captured five ITF titles, and multiple Under-18 ITF junior circuit titles across different continents.

The 24-year-old said, “I am honoured to be given a main draw singles wildcard to play at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open. I am very thankful to the Hong Kong, China Tennis Association for this amazing opportunity, and I will do my very best to have a strong WTA Tour debut. It is my dream to turn professional, and compete on the world’s biggest stages, and hopefully this is just the beginning.”

PHKTO 2026, with a total prize purse of more than USD280,000, will be held at the iconic Victoria Park Tennis Stadium from 31 October to 8 November 2026.

The prestigious tournament is the last stop on the WTA regular tour and part of the China Tennis Season.  The event is a three-time winner of the WTA 250 Tournament of the Year Award – in 2018, 2024, and 2025.

Cody Wong is one of the many local players who have benefited from the opportunities offered to her by PHKTO over the years, and this year, she will begin her singles and doubles campaigns (with Jiang Xinyu, world No. 25 in women’s doubles) in the qualifying and main draw respectively.

The 24-year-old is now one of Hong Kong’s most prominent tennis talents, reaching the latter rounds in junior singles at Grand Slams and peaked at No. 18 in the ITF Junior World Rankings. Since turning professional in 2021 at the age of 19, she has won four ITF singles titles, 26 doubles titles and most recently a bronze medal in women’s doubles at the 2026 Asian Games. Wong reached the doubles quarter-finals at PHKTO 2025 alongside Eudice Chong, marking a milestone achievement as the first Hong Kong pair to win a main-draw doubles match at the tournament.

Wong, who debuted at PHKTO in 2016, commented: “The Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open has been instrumental in my development as a tennis player. I remember playing there for the first time 10 years ago, which was really the first time I got the opportunity to compete against the world’s best. I was able to secure my first-ever main draw doubles victory on the WTA Tour in Hong Kong last year, so the tournament will always have a special place in my heart. I am looking forward to returning home and competing in Victoria Park, and hope to gain more experience against this strong field as I continue to grow as a tennis player.”

Yandy Shek will join Wong through another wildcard invite in the singles qualifying tournament. The 21-year-old made her tournament debut for Team Hong Kong at this year’s Billie Jean King Cup Asia/Oceania Group II, and delivered a flawless, undefeated 5-0 record at No. 1 singles, leading the team to a promotion back into Asia/Oceania Group I for 2027. Shek won her maiden professional title last year at ITF W15 Hong Kong when she partnered China’s Zhang Ying to capture the doubles crown.

Shek commented, “It is a dream come true for me to play at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open this year. I have had wonderful experiences representing Hong Kong, China at the Billie Jean King Cup and at the Asian Games. I feel I am maturing as a tennis player, and this amazing opportunity at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open will be a real step up for me, and I look forward to learning about what I need to work on to keep improving. I want to offer my sincere appreciation to the Hong Kong, China Tennis Association for this unbelievable opportunity.”

World doubles No. 60 Eudice Chong has announced that she is unable to take part in PHKTO 2026 due to injury. The Morocco Open 2026 doubles champion said: “I am sorry that I am unable to play in my favourite tournament of the year – The Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open – because of injury. I have had the best season of my career this year, and I wanted to finish the year playing in front of my home fans by way of thanking them for their support. I am disappointed not to be able to do that, but I plan to go to Victoria Park and cheer on all the competitors, and engage with tennis fans.”

The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games Gold Medallist Belinda Bencic has also withdrawn from PHKTO 2026 due to an injury that had already forced her out of the Japan Open this week.

Bencic’s place in the singles main draw has been taken up by American Sofia Kenin, who won the 2020 Australian Open women’s singles title, and reached the French Open women’s singles final the same year.

Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open is proud of being an “M” Mark event that helps enhance the image of Hong Kong as Asia’s sports event capital. The “M” Mark is awarded by the Major Sports Events Committee, symbolising intense, spectacular and signature events in the territory sports calendar.

Trailblazer and world No. 19 Alexandra Eala; Chinese star Wang Xinyu; 23-time Grand Slam Champion Venus Williams; PHKTO 2023 and 2024 singles champions Leylah Fernandez and Diana Shnaider; two-time Grand Slam singles finalist Jasmine Paolini; former world No. 2 Paula Badosa; former world No. 3 Maria Sakkari; three-time Grand Slam singles quarter-finalist Sorana Cirstea, and PHKTO 2024 runner-up Katie Boulter have already confirmed their participation at the event.

Tickets are available via Ticketflap (https://www.tickets.tennishk.org/hkts-wta250-2026) with prices ranging from HK$180 to HK$1,070. A 50% discount is available on Cat 2 tickets for persons aged 18 or below, full-time students, and seniors aged 60 or above.

For the latest tournament updates, please visit the tournament website at https://www.hktennisopen.hk/en/