Chengdu to host 2027 Australian Open Asia-Pacific Wildcard Play-Off; Sumit Nagal, Manas Dhamne among Indian entries

The 2027 Australian Open Asia-Pacific Wildcard Play-Off will bring a significant opportunity for regional players to earn a place in the first Grand Slam of the new season, with Chengdu, China, set to host the competition from November 23 to 28, 2026.

The tournament will offer winning singles and doubles players a main-draw wildcard for the 2027 Australian Open, turning a week of competition at the Sichuan International Tennis Centre into a potentially career-defining opportunity. Open to nationals from across the Asia-Pacific region, excluding Australians, the play-off is designed to give players outside the established top tier a direct route to one of tennis’s biggest stages.

The event is open to men and women from the Asia-Pacific region with a world ranking of 105 or higher, according to the tournament information. Alongside the opportunity to secure an Australian Open main-draw place, prize money will also be on offer during the competition.

For Indian tennis, the provisional entry lists offer several points of interest, with Sumit Nagal and Manas Dhamne featuring in the men's singles acceptance list, while Arjun Kadhe, Vijay Sundar Prashanth and Siddhant Banthia are among the Indian players listed for men's doubles.

Indian challenge led by Nagal and Dhamne

Nagal is listed among the direct acceptances in men's singles with an ATP ranking of 265 in the entry document dated November 9. The Indian will be looking to use the opportunity to compete for a place in the Australian Open main draw.

Young Indian player Manas Dhamne is also included in the direct acceptance list, with a ranking of 391. Their presence gives India two direct entries in the provisional men's singles field.

The qualifying acceptance list includes players such as Thailand's Kasidit Samrej, Uzbekistan's Khumoyun Sultanov, Japan's Keisuke Saitoh and Kazakhstan's Beibit Zhukayev. Nepal's Abhishek Bastola is listed among the qualifying wildcards.

The men's singles document lists a 16-player main draw, with four places allocated to qualifiers and three wildcard slots identified in the published acceptance list. The entry document also includes an alternate list featuring Indian players Siddarth Rawat, Adil Kalyanpur, Chandril Sood, Lakshit Sood and Ritesh Dubey. Their participation will depend on movement in the acceptance list.

India's representation in the women's singles entry document includes Vaishnavi Adkar, who is listed as the first alternate with a WTA ranking of 344.

The direct acceptance list features eight players, led by China's Han Shi, ranked 148, and Japan's Mai Hontama, ranked 160. Chinese Taipei's Joanna Garland and China's Yexin Ma are also among the direct acceptances.

The women's singles main draw is scheduled to feature 16 players, including four qualifiers and four wildcard selections. Papua New Guinea's Violet Apisah is already listed as one of the main-draw wildcard recipients, alongside two China Tennis Association (CTA) wildcard places and one Tennis Australia wildcard.

The qualifying acceptance list includes Japan's Kyoka Okamura, China's Fangran Tian, South Korea's Sohyun Park, China's Zongyu Li, Japan's Sakura Hosogi and Rina Saigo. Two additional qualifying wildcard places are also listed.

Adkar's position as the first alternate means her entry will depend on withdrawals and changes to the final acceptance list.

Indian combinations feature in men's doubles

The men's doubles provisional list has six direct pre-entry teams, with Indian players featuring in two combinations.

Arjun Kadhe and Vijay Sundar Prashanth are listed together, while Siddhant Banthia is paired with Japan's James Trotter. The other direct pre-entry combinations include players from China, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Japan.

The doubles competition will also have two direct on-site entry positions. The provisional document states that at least one player from each pair must sign in at the venue, with sign-in closing at 12pm on Monday, November 23.

Acceptance and seeding will be determined using ATP rankings as of November 23. Players' best singles or doubles rankings will be considered for acceptance, while doubles rankings alone will be used for seeding.

The men's doubles tournament is scheduled from November 24 to 27, with four main-draw wildcard places identified in the provisional list: two from the CTA and two from Tennis Australia.

The women's doubles provisional entry list also features six direct pre-entry teams, with combinations from Chinese Taipei, Japan, China, Thailand and South Korea.

The top-listed combination is I Hsuan Cho and Yi Tsen Cho of Chinese Taipei. Other entries include Japan's Momoko Kobori and Ayano Shimuzu, Chinese Taipei's Ya Hsin Lee alongside China's Shuo Feng, and China's Zongyu Li with Yu Yun Li of Chinese Taipei.

As in the men's competition, two additional direct on-site entry positions are available. The acceptance and seeding process will use WTA rankings as of November 23, with players' best singles or doubles rankings considered for acceptance and doubles rankings used for seeding.

The women's doubles competition will run from November 24 to 27. Four main-draw wildcard positions are listed, split between the CTA and Tennis Australia.

The play-off will take place at the Sichuan International Tennis Centre in Chengdu, with the singles competitions scheduled from November 23 to 28 and the doubles events from November 24 to 27.

The entry documents also set out important deadlines for participants. Singles qualifying sign-in closes at 4pm on Sunday, November 22, while the main draws are scheduled to be released on November 23. For doubles, entries close on November 16, followed by the on-site sign-in deadline at noon on November 23.

For players across the region, the stakes extend beyond prize money and ranking opportunities. A successful week in Chengdu could secure a place in the 2027 Australian Open main draw, offering an opportunity to compete against the world's leading players at Melbourne Park.

For India's contingent, Nagal and Dhamne will be among the names to follow in singles, while the men's doubles combinations featuring Kadhe, Prashanth and Banthia provide further domestic interest. Adkar will remain in contention through the women's singles alternate list.

The Asia-Pacific Wildcard Play-Off is therefore more than a regional tournament. It is a direct pathway to Grand Slam tennis, with players from across the region competing for an opportunity that could shape the start of their 2027 season.