Tokyo vs. Beijing Tennis Tournaments 2026: Dates, Draw Sizes, and Time Zones

Tokyo vs. Beijing tennis tournaments in 2026 is not one head-to-head event. It is a comparison of four tournaments on two tours. The men’s Kinoshita Group Japan Open in Tokyo and China Open in Beijing both ran September 30–October 6, 2026, as ATP 500 events with matching 32-player singles and 16-team doubles draws. On the women’s tour, Beijing hosted a larger WTA 1000 from September 30–October 11, while Tokyo’s WTA 500 Toray Pan Pacific Open is scheduled for October 26–November 1.

The distinction determines which draw, match date, and time zone you should use. As of October 16, 2026, the men’s Tokyo and Beijing tournaments and women’s Beijing tournament are complete; the women’s Tokyo main draw is still ahead. Here are the official main-draw dimensions and calendar windows, not qualifying-round dates.

Tokyo vs. Beijing tennis 2026: at-a-glance comparison

These dates and draw sizes are shown on the ATP tournament calendar, WTA Beijing event page, and WTA Tokyo event page. Singles draw size means main-draw players; doubles draw size means pairs or teams, not individual athletes. Qualifying fields are counted separately. In particular, the Tokyo Pan Pacific Open organizer lists qualifying for October 24–25, ahead of the October 26 main-draw opening (official Pan Pacific Open tournament outline).

Men’s ATP tournaments: same dates, same draw sizes

The 2026 Tokyo ATP 500 and Beijing ATP 500 were played in parallel from Wednesday, September 30, through Tuesday, October 6. Neither follows the other. Each was an outdoor hard-court event with a 32-man singles bracket and a 16-team doubles bracket, making them direct same-week alternatives for fans watching the Asian swing.

Tokyo’s Kinoshita Group Japan Open takes place at Ariake Tennis Forest Park, while the Beijing China Open is staged at the National Tennis Center, whose main Diamond Court has a retractable roof. See the ATP Tokyo tournament page and ATP Beijing tournament page for their tournament-specific results and draw links. The category ATP 500 identifies their ranking-point tier; identical category and bracket size do not imply the same entrants, order of play, or individual match times.

If you are comparing particular players, start with the men’s singles draws and match records for each event. Checking only the week on a calendar cannot tell you who played the first day, who received a qualifying place, or whether a session started late. For a replay, use the completed results. For any future edition, rely on that year’s published order of play rather than carrying over the 2026 session times.

Women’s WTA tournaments: Beijing is larger; Tokyo is later

Beijing China Open: WTA 1000, September 30–October 11

Beijing’s women’s tournament ran for 12 calendar days with a 96-player singles main draw and 32 doubles teams. Its 128-position singles bracket included 32 first-round byes for seeded players; those players entered in round two rather than having to win an opening match. This is why counting bracket slots is not the same as counting athletes in the draw.

The women’s China Open uses the China National Tennis Center. The 2026 singles final was played Sunday, October 11, and Zheng Qinwen defeated Mirra Andreeva 7–5, 6–4, according to the WTA Beijing final report. The completed tournament is useful for results and bracket comparisons, not as a source of upcoming live start times.

Tokyo Toray Pan Pacific Open: WTA 500, October 26–November 1

The women’s Tokyo WTA 500 is a separate, later tournament, with 28 singles players and 16 doubles teams in its main draws. A 28-player singles bracket typically gives its four highest seeds first-round byes, a smaller bye structure than Beijing’s 96-player field. The official official Pan Pacific Open tournament outline identifies Ariake Coliseum and Ariake Tennis Forest Park as its venues and lists October 24–25 for qualifying.

Do not mistake it for the women’s Kinoshita Group Japan Open in Osaka, which is a WTA 250 scheduled for October 19–25. Likewise, the ATP Japan Open in Tokyo is not the same tournament as the WTA Pan Pacific Open. Search with all three details—tour, tournament name, and city—to avoid following the wrong draw.

Tokyo vs. Beijing time zones: which city is ahead?

Tokyo is one hour ahead of Beijing throughout both tournaments. Tokyo uses Japan Standard Time (JST, UTC+09:00); Beijing uses China Standard Time (UTC+08:00). Both locations keep these offsets during the 2026 autumn tennis calendar. The Japan standard-time authority NICT documents the nine-hour Japanese offset.

The two rows above are conversion examples, not advertised match start times. To convert a real match, use its published date and start time in the host city, subtract eight hours for Beijing or nine hours for Tokyo to obtain UTC, and then convert UTC into your viewing location’s date-specific zone.

Why the 2026 WTA finals are useful time-zone examples

For Beijing on Sunday, October 11, 2026, the WTA Beijing final preview dated October 10 listed the singles final as not before 7:30 p.m. Beijing, China Standard Time (UTC+08:00). That threshold is 11:30 a.m. UTC on October 11, or 7:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−04:00) on October 11. It updated an earlier WTA Asian-swing guide that had said not before 7:00 p.m.; the later match-specific schedule takes precedence. “Not before” is an earliest advertised time, not a guaranteed first serve.

For Tokyo on Sunday, November 1, 2026, the WTA 2026 Asian swing schedule schedules the women’s singles final for 12:00 p.m. Tokyo, Japan Standard Time (UTC+09:00). That converts to 3:00 a.m. UTC on November 1 and 11:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−04:00) on Saturday, October 31. This U.S. example falls before Eastern clocks switch back on November 1 at 2:00 a.m., as described by U.S. NIST daylight saving time rules. The local date changes when converting Tokyo’s noon start to New York; no such change occurs in Japan.

Tokyo’s final time is the published schedule as checked on October 16, not a guarantee that play cannot be moved. For match-specific viewing, refresh the official daily order of play, check whether its hour is labeled JST or China Standard Time, and pay attention to “not before,” preceding matches, and weather delays.

How to choose the right 2026 tournament schedule

• Comparing the men’s events? Use September 30–October 6 for both Tokyo and Beijing; expect matching 32/16 ATP main-draw dimensions.
• Looking for the largest women’s draw? Choose Beijing’s completed WTA 1000, with 96 singles players and 32 doubles teams.
• Planning to watch women’s tennis in Tokyo? Use the Pan Pacific Open’s October 26–November 1 main-draw dates, not the earlier ATP Japan Open or the Osaka tournament.
• Saving a match reminder? Verify the tour and player, copy the host-city start time and full date, and convert that instant using UTC. Review the order of play again close to the session.

Bottom line: Tokyo and Beijing offered parallel ATP 500 events in early October 2026, but the women’s events were different in both timing and size. Beijing was the 96-player WTA 1000, and Tokyo is the later 28-player WTA 500. Keep the ATP and WTA brackets separate, and always attach JST (UTC+09:00) or China Standard Time (UTC+08:00) to any listed start hour.

Official schedule and time references

• ATP tournament calendar — 2026 ATP events, categories, surfaces, and main-draw sizes.
• ATP Tokyo tournament page and ATP Beijing tournament page — venue, results, and men’s draw information.
• WTA Beijing event page and WTA Tokyo event page — women’s tournament calendars and brackets.
• official Pan Pacific Open tournament outline — Tokyo WTA venue and qualifying dates.
• WTA 2026 Asian swing schedule — WTA final-day published schedule and tournament comparisons.
• WTA Beijing final preview dated October 10 — revised Beijing final start threshold.
• Japan standard-time authority NICT and U.S. NIST daylight saving time rules — standard-time and U.S. DST rules.