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The last Super 1000 event of the year unfolds this week as some of the world's top talents head to Changzhou for the 2019 VICTOR China Open.
This week's event will also see the return of two of Europe’s biggest stars: Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen and Spain’s Carolina Marin after their recent injury troubles.
Axelsen, who has been nursing a back problem in recent months, plays his first competitive match since the Sudirman Cup this week and will be desperate to get back to the top of the world rankings.
Seeded sixth for this event, Axelsen will fancy his chances of going far if his fitness can hold. Back at the Singapore Open in April, Axelsen lost out in the final against Kento Momota and if he reaches the quarterfinals here then there’s likely to be a rematch with the world number one, so that could be one to watch this week.
Marin on the other hand officially made her return at the Vietnam Open last week but was beaten in the opening round by Thai youngster Supanida Katethong. She will be looking to rebuild herself as she continues her recovery from an ACL injury she suffered at the Indonesian Masters in January but will be hoping to go much further than she managed in Vietnam.
She has another tough opening match in Changzhou however, as she takes on the BWF World Championship runner-up Nzomi Okuhara in the opening round. The Japanese number four seed was impressive at the World Championships last month but has never won this event whilst Marin was successful just a year ago, so she’ll be confident on her return to China.
Astrup and Rasmussen looking to retain their crown
Onto the men’s doubles where Denmark’s Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen will be looking to retain their title at the China Open this week.
The Danish pair overcame the hometown pair of Han Chengkai and Zhou Haodong, 21-13, 17-21, 21-14 in last year's final and will be eager to get that far once again.
Like last year, Astrup and Skaarup Rasmussen are seeded eighth for the tournament and will face the Chinese Tapei pair of Jhe-Huei Lee and Po-Hsuan Yang in the opening round.
See the full draw for the China Open here
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