Latest news with #WuhanOpen
Metro
15 hours ago
- Sport
- Metro
Wuhan Open and British Open draws made as Ronnie O'Sullivan enters both
There is precious little time off on the snooker calendar these days, with the new season getting underway in less than two weeks. Qualifiers for the Wuhan Open are followed by British Open qualifying, with those matches taking place in Leicester this month before the main events later in the year. While it is a low-key start to the season, they are vital matches for a lot of players on tour as early defeats in the opening two ranking events of the season would represent a bit of a nightmare start to the season. Not all the big names are in action in qualifying, with eight matches held over for the main stages of the Wuhan Open and 16 matches held over to Cheltenham for the British Open. Ronnie O'Sullivan will not be playing in qualifying, but he is in the draw for both events, taking on Allan Taylor in Wuhan and Sanderson Lam in Cheltenham. New world champion Zhao Xintong also has his matches held over, playing Iulian Boiko in Wuhan and a yet-to-be confirmed top-up player in Cheltenham. The British Open has an open, FA Cup-style draw, so there are some heavyweight matches from the first round, including Mark Williams taking on Si Jiahui and Kyren Wilson facing Chris Wakelin. Details on how to watch the Wuhan Open and British Open qualifiers are expected to be announced next week. Following the two sets of qualifiers the Championship League begins on Monday June 30 and runs all the way until a champion is crowned on July 23. The main stages of the Wuhan Open run from August 24-30 and the following first round games are held over to the tournament venue. More Trending Xiao Guodong v Mink NutcharutDing Junhui v wild cardJudd Trump v Farakh AjaibRonnie O'Sullivan v Allan TaylorMark Allen v wild cardHossein Vafaei v wild cardRobbie Williams v wild card Zhao Xintong v Iulian Boiko Sunday June 22 10amJoe O'Connor vs Jiang JunZhou Yuelong vs Yuhao LanNoppon Saengkham vs Robbie McGuiganJamie Jones vs Liu WenweiMatt Selt vs Sunny AkaniWu Yize vs Louis Heathcote Ishpreet Singh Chadha vs Yao Pengcheng 2.30pmElliot Slessor vs Oliver LinesLuca Brecel vs Haris TahisJohn Higgins vs Hiang JiahaoFan Zhengyi vs Ben MertensSi Jiahui vs Bulcsu ReveszRicky Walden vs David Grace Long Zehuang vs Dylan Emery 7pmJordan Brown vs Duane JonesDavid Lilley vs Reanne EvansMark Williams vs Chatchapong NasaMichael Holt vs Liam GrahamSanderson Lam vs Zhao HanyangMark Davis vs Liam Davies Martin O'Donnell vs Haydon Pinhey Monday June 23 10amGary Wilson vs Gao YangLyu Haotian vs Bai YuluLiu Hongyu vs Ian BurnsDan Wells vs Chang BingyuYuan Sijun vs Xu YichenZhang Anda vs Steven Hallworth He Guoqiang vs Artemijs Zizins 2.30pmShaun Murphy vs Michal SzubarczykAaron Hill vs Sam CraigieNeil Robertson vs Leone CrowleyStephen Maguire vs Kreishh GurbaxaniZak Surety vs Gong ChenzhiPang Junxu vs Hatem Yassen Thepchaiya Un-Nooh vs Fergal Quinn 7pmTom Ford vs Mateusz BaranowskiAli Carter vs Florian NuessleScott Donaldson vs Mitchell MannMatthew Stevens vs Sahil NayyarMark Selby vs Alexander UrsenbacherStan Moody vs Antoni Kowalski Jack Lisowski vs Amir Sarkhosh Tuesday June 24 10amJackson Page vs Ross MuirLei Peifan vs Ng On YeeRobert Milkins vs Wang YuchenXu Si vs Chris TottenRyan Day vs Jonas LuzChris Wakelin vs Marco Fu Dave Gilbert vs Ka Wai Cheung 2.30pmBarry Hawkins vs Julien LeclercqBen Woollaston vs Jen DohertyStuart Bingham vs Liam HighfieldJak Jones vs Oliver BrownJimmy Robertson vs Liam PullenKyren Wilson vs Connor Benzey Anthony McGill vs Jimmy White The main stages of the British Open run from September 22-28 in Cheltenham. The following matches are held over for the main venue. Mark Selby v David GraceJudd Trump v Aaron HillMark Williams v Si JiahuiZhao Xintong v Top-up playerRonnie O'Sullivan v Sanderson LamKyren Wilson v Chris WakelinJohn Higgins v Mark DavisShaun Murphy v Ross MuirNeil Robertson v Tom FordMark Allen v Jiang JunBarry Hawkins v Daniel WellsXiao Guodong v Haydon PinheyZhang Anda v Duane JonesWu Yize v Pang JunxuAli Carter v Top-up player Gary Wilson v Hossein Vafaei Wednesday June 25 10amJonas Luz vs Ka Wai CheungYuan Sijun vs Jamie Jones Marco Fu vs Stephen Maguire 1pmElliot Slessor vs Jackson PageJimmy Robertson vs TBC Haris Tahir vs Ken Doherty 4pmJimmy White vs Liam DaviesLuca Brecel vs Alexander Ursenbacher Louis Heathcote vs Jordan Brown 7pmJack Lisowski vs Liam HighfieldIshpreet Singh Chadha vs Scott Donaldson Wang Yuchen vs Mitchell Mann Thursday June 26 10amKreishh Gurbaxani vs Chang BingyuLiu Hongyu vs Ng On Yee Xu Si vs Florian Nuessle 1pmSteven Hallworth vs Sunny AkaniFergal Quinn vs Gao Yang He Guoqiang vs Farakh Ajaib 4pmLiam Pullen vs Ben MertensMichal Szubarczyk vs TBC Ryan Day vs Stuart Bingham 7pmDavid Lilley vs Liam GrahamGong Chenzhi vs Jak Jones Chris Totten vs Antoni Kowalski Friday June 27 10amNoppon Saengkham vs Liu WenweiHuang Jiahao vs Matthew Stevens Robbie McGuigan vs Lyu Haotian 1pmStan Moody vs Zhou YuelongBai Yulu vs Artemijs Zizins Yao Pengcheng vs Sam Craigie 4pmMartin O'Donnell vs Sahil NayyarRicky Walden vs Joe O'Connor Oliver Lines vs TBC 7pmLeone Crowley vs Hatem YassenConnor Benzey vs Iulian Boiko Matt Selt vs Dave Gilbert Saturday June 28 10amLei Peifan vs Mateusz BaranowskiLong Zehuang vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh Mink Nutcharut vs Amir Sarkhosh 1pmOliver Brown vs Xu YichenLan Yuhao vs Reanne Evans Fan Zhengyi vs Robert Milkins 4pmZak Surety vs Zhao HanyangRobbie Williams vs Bulcsu Revesz Anthony McGill vs Dylan Emery 7pmIan Burns vs Michael HoltJulien Leclercq vs Ben Woollaston Allan Taylor vs Chatchapong Nasa MORE: Stephen Hendry and Ken Doherty disagree on most underrated snooker player ever MORE: Anthony Hamilton reflects on epic career as Sheriff of Pottingham hands in his badge MORE: Which players could actually win World Snooker Tour's huge century of centuries bonus?
BBC News
25-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'National hero' - China's pursuit of an elusive world title
Players from eight countries have won snooker's most prestigious title and become world champion – but China is still waiting for its first 2025 be the year that changes?This season's World Championship last 16 includes six Chinese players – Ding Junhui, Lei Peifan, Pang Junxu, Si Jiahui, Xiao Guodong and Zhao Xintong – with England having the next highest total with five."This has got to be the biggest year for China in terms of chances of having a world champion," said Jason Ferguson, chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA)."We've seen players like Lei Peifan winning ranking events and players bounce on to the scene and that could happen here. These boys have no fear and really want it."If a Chinese player became a world champion there's no doubt that player would become a national hero."Trailblazer Ding has come the closest to snooker's ultimate glory, losing 18-14 to Mark Selby in the 2016 the six Chinese players left in, four have won ranking tournaments, with two of those coming this season - Xiao at the Wuhan Open in October and Lei in the Scottish Open in December."There's been a big improvement in Chinese players," said Ding. "In the past two or three seasons, they've improved so quickly."They're showing people how good they are and they've won tournaments, which says they've got the talent, skills and form to play anybody."It tells people they're ready to play the biggest tournament and hopefully one of them can win it. I would love to see a Chinese player win a World Championship - it would be great for Chinese snooker and also for the young ones to look at and start playing from a young age." 'This day is when snooker becomes a sport' Since the turn of the century, there has been a British winner at the Crucible in every year apart from when Australian Neil Robertson triumphed in 2010 and Belgium's Luca Brecel took the 2023 a long-term aim from snooker bosses has been to grow the game globally."Most people thought this sport was very English and would remain this way, but we could see a real burning will to grow in these countries," said Ferguson.A pivotal moment in snooker's development came when it was added into the World Games in Akita, Japan in August 2001."That really changed the face of snooker," added Ferguson. "I remember walking into the arena with my friends from Asia and we were carrying a banner in a stadium in front of 60,000 people which said 'Billiards Sports'."My friend said to me: 'Jason, remember this day, this day is when snooker becomes a sport.'"We had taken this game which was doing well and very popular in England and had turned it into a sport."Snooker's popularity in China grew at a rapid rate, accelerating when a shy Ding, two days after his 18th birthday, defeated seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry to win the 2005 China Open, watched by a reported television audience of 110 million people in the country."Because of Ding, snooker now has a big market," said world number 12 Zhang Anda. "Ding being world champion would be good for every player because China is a very big market. I hope he can win the first one." Growing the game and recovering from fixing scandal "It's not just about major events in China, we've built Chinese snooker from the bottom up," said Ferguson."China embraced this sport and gave it a lot of love and care. The one thing China has got right is access to snooker facilities in schools and mainstream education. That's something we need here."The players are coming together in academies - there are three in Sheffield - and you find players playing against each other day in, day out and the standard of snooker is absolutely amazing."Chinese snooker, and the sport in general, received a huge setback in June 2023 when 10 players from China received bans for their involvement in Masters champion Yan Bingtao was among those banned, while Liang Wenbo and Li Hang were handed lifetime a former UK Championship winner, served an 18-month ban and has been the only player to return after he had not directly thrown a match but accepted charges of being a party to another player fixing two matches and betting on matches himself."It was a shame some players fell foul of the rules, it was a really sad time and difficult to deal with," said Ferguson."We kept close to our partners in China and the authorities in snooker. We worked together to educate players better and to ensure the players have opportunities. The sport has recovered and it has not stopped the talent coming through." 'Team China' aiming for 'magical moment' Robertson knows what it is like to break through the British dominance of snooker and felt the unity the Chinese players were showing this year was a massive Australian added: "Xiao Guodong said it's like 'Team China' and they are really happy for each other and I like that mindset. He said they're trying to take the burden off Ding and support him and they're in it together."The game is getting stronger and stronger in China and it makes first rounds in all tournaments harder as we're only going to get more Chinese players qualifying."They don't seem fazed by the Crucible and all seem to play well, even on debuts, so it's exciting for snooker. We're seeing a lot of international flags, which is great for the game."So what happens to snooker if a Chinese player lifts the famous trophy on Monday, 5 May?"It's something the authorities we've been working in China with have dreamed of, that one day they would have the world champion," said Ferguson."If a Chinese player wins it would be magical, a historical moment, a real shift in the sport, and I can't tell you the media frenzy it would cause for snooker around the world."
NBC Sports
10-04-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Billie Jean Cup Finals moves to September in China to suit top players' schedule
LONDON — The finals of the Billie Jean King Cup were brought forward two months on Thursday to September. The new Sept. 16-21 schedule in Shenzhen, China, better aligns with the calendar for top women's tennis players, organizers said. Shenzen hosts the finals each year through 2027. After the U.S. Open ends on Sept. 7, the WTA tour moves to Asia for the China Open from Sept. 24 in Beijing. The tour then stays in China for the Wuhan Open. Billie Jean King Cup defending champion Italy and host China will be in the eight-team lineup. Italy won a 12-nation tournament last November in Malaga, Spain. The other finalists will be winners of six qualifying groups played this weekend in Australia, the Czech Republic, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland and Slovakia.
Washington Post
10-04-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Billie Jean Cup Finals moves to September in China to suit top players' schedule
LONDON — The finals of the Billie Jean King Cup were brought forward two months on Thursday to September. The new Sept. 16-21 schedule in Shenzhen, China, better aligns with the calendar for top women's tennis players, organizers said. Shenzen hosts the finals each year through 2027. After the U.S. Open ends on Sept. 7, the WTA tour moves to Asia for the China Open from Sept. 24 in Beijing. The tour then stays in China for the Wuhan Open.
Fox Sports
10-04-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Billie Jean Cup Finals moves to September in China to suit top players' schedule
Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The finals of the Billie Jean King Cup were brought forward two months on Thursday to September. The new Sept. 16-21 schedule in Shenzhen, China, better aligns with the calendar for top women's tennis players, organizers said. Shenzen hosts the finals each year through 2027. After the U.S. Open ends on Sept. 7, the WTA tour moves to Asia for the China Open from Sept. 24 in Beijing. The tour then stays in China for the Wuhan Open. Billie Jean King Cup defending champion Italy and host China will be in the eight-team lineup. Italy won a 12-nation tournament last November in Malaga, Spain. The other finalists will be winners of six qualifying groups played this weekend in Australia, the Czech Republic, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland and Slovakia. ___ AP tennis: in this topic
