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Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships 2016 – Tokyo, Japan

Nick Kyrgios, Gael Monfils, Kevin Anderson, Yoshihito Nishioka, John Peers and more played “sushi roulette” to find out which player gets the lucky (or unlucky?) sushi roll filled with wasabi. The star who got the spicy treat also won a prize! 

Kei Nishikori, Feliciano Lopez, Monfils, Benoit Paire, Marcos Baghdatis, Marin Cilic, Ivo Karlovic, Nishioka, Taro Daniel, Anderson, Yuichi Sugita and Fernando Verdasco were on hand for ATP Sunday Charity Day, a tradition at the Rakuten Open, which sees packed crowds watch players practise ahead of the tournament.

Gilles Muller, Peers and Henri Kontinen helped out at an Emirates Clinic. 

China Open – Beijing, China

Andy Murray, Milos Raonic and Rafael Nadal were among the players to enjoy the China Open Official Government Reception, hosted at Beijing National Stadium, also known as the iconic Bird’s Nest.

Rohan Bopanna and Daniel Nestor helped out at Mercedes Benz Kids’ Day, while Nadal stopped by to take selfies with the children.

Murray, Adrian Mannarino, Lucas Pouille, Dominic Thiem, Edouard Roger-Vasselin, Ze Zhang, Alexander Zverev, Andre Begemann, Florian Mayer, Steve Johnson, Julien Benneteau, Pablo Carreno Busta, Kyle Edmund, Pablo Cuevas, Bob Bryan, Mike Bryan and Roberto Bautista Agut were among the stars to meet fans on-site for selfies and autographs.

Jack Sock, Raonic, Pouille, Sam Querrey and Andreas Seppi spent time on-site with sponsors.

In order to run a world-class tennis tournament like the $125,000 ATP Challenger Tour event in Mons, Belgium, it helps to have someone in charge that has played in many of them.

Enter Dominique Monami. During her 10-year career, she peaked at No.  9 in the WTA rankings in 1998 and won four singles titles. Since moving on to become the tournament director at the Ethias Trophy, she’s drawn from her time on tour to offer everything that a player could need during their week in Mons.

The tournament debuted in 2005 and with her help, was selected as a 2015 Challenger of the Year (along with events in Braunschweig, Germany, and Monterrey, Mexico). Not only has it become one of the most popular tournaments among players on the ATP Challenger Tour calendar, it’s also a local favourite with nearly 20,000 people turning up every year to watch the tennis.

“I think my past experience helps me to better understand the needs of the players and make a schedule that’s fair for everyone. I’m also working with my team to help the players as much as possible outside the court,” said Monami. “We offer cinema tickets, golf and free food with delicious sweets. My hope is that the players feel good here so they play at their top level and want to come back next year. Many of our players come back year after year.”

One of those players is Belgian No. 2 Steve Darcis, a two-time finalist making his 11^th appearance this year at the Ethias Trophy. He regularly practises in Mons and the tournament’s stadium has become familiar territory to him.

“It’s tough to find a better Challenger,” said Darcis. “The stadium is almost full all the time, especially when Belgians play. The atmosphere is very nice, the food is great too and the people working there are doing everything they can for the players.”

The tournament has served as a springboard for several players who went on to reach the highest levels of the sport. Andy Murray reached the quarter-finals in 2005, while former champions Ernests Gulbis (2005), Janko Tipsarevic (2006) and David Goffin (2014) have all gone on to crack the Top 15 of the Emirates ATP Rankings.

For the Belgian players competing here, it also offers a rare opportunity to play in front of a home crowd.

“I have family and friends come all the time because I usually play too far away,” said Darcis. “It’s great for me to play in front of the people I love.”

After graduating from college this year, Sem Verbeek is now ready to graduate onto a pro tennis career.

The 22 year old from the Netherlands took another step towards that at this week’s $100,000 ATP Challenger Tour event in Stockton, California. Verbeek received a main draw wild card for his success as a player at Stockton-based University of the Pacific and fittingly drew reigning NCAA champion Mackenzie McDonald in the first round.  Although he lost in straight sets, he said the match was an experience that will serve him well.

“Coming home is always a great experience, especially getting to play at this level. There’s a lot to learn, but that’s what makes these matches exciting,” said Verbeek. “Obviously the result sucks, but that’s what makes you more hungry to go out there and work hard.”

Verbeek completed his senior year on the team with an 18-2 record, earning him a selection as West Coast Conference men’s tennis Player of the Year. But while he hopes to one day have a similar record on the ATP World Tour, he admitted there will be a steep learning curve initially.

“The biggest difference is the base. They hit the ball a little harder and a little bit faster than college players. They reach a level of tennis that I have in me, but find hard to produce consistently now,” said Verbeek. “The opportunities lie in some very small corners and these guys take advantage of them because they’re professionals.”

Verbeek kicked off his pro career last month and has played four tournaments so far, all in California. He’ll now head back to the Netherlands to train and figure out his next tournaments, but is the optimistic that this is the beginning of a long career.

“There are some mental and technical errors that I can’t make anymore at this level, so that’s what I’m working on now to make these types of matches mine,” said Verbeek. “I’m excited to get this process started and get to work. It’s going to take a lot of improvement on my part, but I’m ready for it. This is what I want to do.”