China Open (tennis): Dates, Tickets & Venue (Beijing)

The China Open is one of the biggest stops on the Asian hard-court swing, and it’s the rare combined event where the top men’s and women’s tours share the same grounds in the same week. For 2026, that week was set for September 30 through October 6, with ATP and WTA matches overlapping across the National Tennis Center’s courts rather than split into separate tournaments back to back.

The venue: National Tennis Center

The tournament is based inside the National Tennis Center, part of the Olympic Green complex built for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The centerpiece is the “Diamond Court,” a lotus-petal-shaped stadium that seats roughly 10,000 and anchors a cluster of outer courts where early rounds play out.

Getting there is straightforward on Beijing’s subway system:

• Take Line 8 to Olympic Green station, then walk through the park past the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube.
• Alternatively, Anzhen Xili or Beitucheng stations on Lines 5, 8, or 10 put you within a longer walk or short taxi ride.
• It’s a 10-15 minute walk from the nearest exit regardless of route, since the tennis center sits toward the back of the Olympic Green grounds.

Foot traffic through the park is heaviest on quarterfinal and semifinal days.

Matching dates to matches

The men’s ATP 500 draw and the women’s WTA 1000 draw both sat inside the September 30-October 6 window, though the two draws don’t necessarily start and finish on identical days within it. Early rounds typically fill the outer courts simultaneously, while the stadium court hosts a mix of both tours until the finals separate out toward the end of the week.

Scheduling shifts year to year, and match times are released only a few days out, so the dates above mark the tournament’s outer boundary rather than a day-by-day itinerary.

Buying tickets

Tickets were sold by session rather than as a single all-access pass, so a ticket covered a specific day, or a day or evening half depending on the round, and gave access to whichever courts were in play. Grounds passes for early rounds tend to be the most affordable way in, since they let you wander between outer courts and catch multiple matches.

Finals-week sessions for the stadium court cost more and go fastest, particularly for weekend matches. Official ticketing and resale typically both operate in the lead-up to the week:

• The tournament’s official ticketing partner sells at face value, while resale prices run higher.
• Stadium seating and grounds passes are priced and sold separately.
• Pricing and availability shift year to year.

Reading the draw like a regular

Regulars at the China Open treat the outer courts as the real show during the first few days. That’s where you can stand close to the baseline for free once you’re inside on a grounds pass, watching players who’ll be unreachable behind stadium security by the weekend.

Security checkpoints at the venue entrance call for a passport or ID; bag checks are standard and mirror what you’d see at any major international sporting event in Beijing. Food and drink inside tend toward Chinese fast-casual chains and a handful of Western concession stands, so it’s not a destination for a sit-down meal.

Most seasoned attendees pace themselves across the week rather than trying to catch everything in one day, since the grounds are large and matches on different courts often overlap.

Beyond the courts

Because the National Tennis Center sits inside the Olympic Green, a match folds easily into a bigger day out. The Bird’s Nest (National Stadium) and Water Cube (National Aquatics Center) are a short walk away, and both remain open to visitors as sightseeing attractions year-round.

Those two landmarks keep their own opening hours and sell their own admission tickets, separate from the tournament, and a morning at one of them pairs naturally with an afternoon or evening session on the courts.