Stars including Lorenzo Musetti, Daniil Medvedev and Joao Fonseca kick off 2026 in Brisbane and Hong Kong | ATP Tour

Scouting report

Scouting report: Stars like Musetti, Medvedev and Fonseca set to open in Brisbane and Hong Kong in 2026

An executive summary of what every fan should know about next week’s content

January 3, 2026

This week, many stars will hold ATP 250 double matches in Brisbane and Hong Kong to kick off their 2026 journey.

Daniil Medvedev is the top seed at the Brisbane International presented by ANZ, with defending champion Jiri Lehecka and #NextGenATP phenom Joao Fonseca also set to compete. Top 10 star Lorenzo Musetti headlines the Bank of China Hong Kong Open, joined by former champions Andrey Rublev and Alexandre Muller.

ATPTour.com looks at five things to watch at each event.

Five things to watch in Brisbane
1) Medvedev on the march: Medvedev may have had a rough 2025 season, but he can gain confidence from a late-season surge as he begins his pursuit of 2026. The former PIF ATP No. 1 hired Thomas Johnson and Rohan Götzke as coaches before ending a 15-month title drought in Almaty in October. Medvedev’s best result in Brisbane was reaching the final in 2019.

2) Two-time champion Dimitrov: Grigor Dimitrov returned to Paris after suffering a heartbreaking chest injury at Wimbledon that forced him to withdraw two sets from his fourth-round match against Janik Sinner, but withdrew before his second match. Many eyes will be on the 34-year-old’s fitness when he kicks off his season in Brisbane, where he won the trophy in 2017 and 2024.

3) Defending champion Lehka: Australia has always been Lehka’s happy hunting ground. The Czech has won two ATP Tour titles in the country, in Adelaide in 2024 and in Brisbane last year. The 24-year-old is heading into 2026 after a stellar year that saw him rise to a career-high No. 16 in the world and rack up 41 wins, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

4) Fonseca & Tien seed player prospects: The past two champions of the Next Generation ATP Finals presented by PIF, Joao Fonseca and Learner Tien, made their Australian ATP 250 debuts. Both players had breakout performances last year, with Fonseca winning titles in Buenos Aires and Basel, while Tian won titles in Metz and Jeddah.

5) Cash/Glasspool lead the doubles field: Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool, who won seven ATP Tour titles together last season, will try to win their first title of the new season in Brisbane. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Lehka also teamed up in the doubles competition.

Five things worth paying attention to in Hong Kong
1) Musetti top seed: Expectations are growing for Musetti in 2026, a season after he made his debut at the Nitto ATP Finals and rose to a career-high world ranking of No. 6. The Italian top seed reached three finals last year but is aiming to win his first title since Hamburg and Napoli in 2022.

2) Rublev makes a comeback? Rublev, who dropped out of the top 10 last year for the first time since 2022, will be aiming to start his season in good form in Hong Kong. The former world number five won the title on his debut in 2024 but lost in the second round of his title defense last year.

3) More magic from Mueller? Muller became the third player to win an ATP Tour title, having lost the first set in every match en route to the title in Hong Kong last season. The Frenchman then reached the ATP 500 final in Rio de Janeiro and broke into the top 40 in the world.

Watch highlights from the 2025 Hong Kong finals:

4) #NextGenATP Sakamoto: Rei Sakamoto, 19, qualified for the ATP 250 through the Next Gen Accelerator, which gives players 20 and under more opportunities to play on tour. The Japanese player won the 2024 Australian Open men’s championship and ranked first in the ITF junior rankings.

5) Khachanov/Rublev doubles draw: Karen Khachanov and Rublev will team up for the doubles competition, while singles star Musetti will also compete in the doubles competition with Lorenzo Sonego. Sander Arends and Roman Arneodo are the top seeds.