Alex de Minaur backed to win the China Open title over Alexander Zverev by Tennishead readers

The 2026 China Open is set to begin on Wednesday.

The prestigious ATP 500 event was last won by Jannik Sinner, who defeated Learner Tien in the 2025 final.

Sinner has chosen not to defend his 2025 title as he continues to recover from a troublesome knee injury – a physical issue that also forced the Italian to miss the US Open.

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Sinner's absence has given those remaining in the 2026 draw the opportunity to stamp their authority on the Asian swing.

We asked you, the Tennishead readers, to predict your 2026 China Open champion on TalkingPoints.

Who did you choose?

Alex de Minaur is the China Open favourite according to Tennishead readers

It has been an underwhelming campaign for Alex de Minaur: the Australian has struggled to locate his best form, suffering early exits at many high-profile tennis events.

However, the world number 10 showed positive signs recently when upsetting US Open champion Alexander Zverev at the Laver Cup.

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Tennishead readers have now thrown their support behind De Minaur, predicting that he will win the China Open over Zverev.

At the time of writing, De Minaur has collected 85 of the 244 votes cast in the TalkingPoints poll.

This equates to 34.84 per cent of the vote.

Alexander Zverev is in second place with 27.87 per cent, and the 'other' section is in third, having garnered 11.89 per cent.

Novak Djokovic, who is set to make his first China Open appearance since 2015, is in fourth place with 9.43 per cent of the vote.

TalkingPoints poll: Who will win the 2026 China Open Men's Singles title?

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How did Alex de Minaur perform at the 2025 China Open?

De Minaur reached the semi-finals of last year's China Open, beating Bu Yunchaokete, Arthur Rinderknech and Jakub Mensik en route.

Jannik Sinner ended the 'Demon's' run, triumphing 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in the last four.

"He was serving great at times with great pace and precision," Sinner said of De Minaur after securing the victory, as per the ATP website.

"He was returning very well. I was serving very well today, but he neutralised my serve very well. He was moving very fast and this court is quite slow at times, so he arrives at more balls.

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"I tried to stay concentrated and not lose mental energy. It was a very difficult match today, so I am very happy."

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