The Auckland Open, better known by its sponsored name the ASB Classic is an annual hardcourt outdoor tennis tournament played at the beginning of the new tennis season.
The 2023 season is about to start off strong with many lower-tier tour events featuring high-ranking players and the same can be said for the long-awaited return of the ASB Classic. With the world no. 3 in attendance and other big names in tennis set to participate, this year’s ASB Classis was one to remember. To learn more about the 2023 Auckland Open, keep on reading.
ASB Classic Tennis Tournament
The event is played on both the ATP and WTA tours as an ATP 250 and WTA 250 event respectively. Both tournaments are played back to back across 2 weeks; starting with the women’s tournament followed by the men’s event the day after. This year will mark the 36th edition of the women’s event and the 45th edition of the men’s event. The event is also returning after a 2-year absence from the tour due to the Covid-19 pandemic that saw multiple tour events canceled. The title sponsor for the Auckland Open is ASB Bank based in New Zealand.
| Location | Auckland, New Zealand |
| Venue | ASB Tennis Centre |
| Tour category | ATP 250 |
| Prize Money | $642,735 |
| Draw | 32 S, 16 D |
ASB Classic Results
In singles championship, Richard Gasquet faced seeded number 2 Cameron Norrie in finals. French star Gasquet defeated Cameron in final after 1st set down (4-6, 6-4, 6-4). Richard won 16th career ATP title, first in almost 5 years.
In Auckland’s doubles championship, Croatian pair Nikola Mektić / Mate Pavić defeated American pair Nathaniel Lammons / Jackson Withrow in final. Croatian pair won final in final set (6-4, 6-7, 10-6). The Winning pair clinch their 15th ATP Tour title.
ASB Classic History and Previous Winners
History
The Auckland Open has a rich history in tennis, being part of the ATP Tour for nearly half a century. The event first started out as the Auckland Championships in 1956 which was men only tournament. It has since undergone many changes to its name, venue, court surface, and tour category. For almost 20 years, the event was placed on a grass court before switching to its current hard court surface. After the beginning of the Open Era, in 1998, the tournament was of the International series of tour events.
As the ATP was streamlined in 2008 and a new tier system for events was introduced, the Auckland Open was made an ATP 250 tournament, the tier it holds to this day. At one point, between 1956 and 1977, the tournament was even part of the Grand Prix tennis circuit, As for the title sponsors, the ASB Classic was previously known as the Benson and Hedges Open, but it was changed to the Heineken Open until 2015. Since then, under contract by ASB Bank, the Auckland Open is better known as the ASB Classic.
ASB Classic winners
The tournament has had many well-known tennis icons win the title. Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Bjorn Borg, David Ferrer, and many others have all won the Auckland Open. David Ferrer and Roy Emmerson both hold the record for most titles at 4 and most consecutive titles as well, at 3. Among recent winners, Roberto Bautista Agut recorded his second title win in 2018.
| Year | Singles Champion | Doubles Champion |
| 2023 | Richard Gasquet | Nikola Mektić / Mate Pavić |
| 2020 | Ugo Humbert | Luke Bambridge / Ben McLachlan |
| 2019 | Tennys Sandgren | Ben McLachlan / Jan-Lennard Struff |
| 2018 | Roberto Bautista Agut | Oliver Marach / Mate Pavic |
| 2017 | Jack Sock | Marcin Matkowski / Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi |
| 2016 | Roberto Bautista Agut | Mate Pavic / Michael Venus |
ASB Classic Prize Money and Ranking Points
The prize money for the 2023 ATP ASB Classic is $642,735, it will likely be similar to the prize fund of previous editions. Prize distribution of all rounds is listed below. The total amount in the prize fund for the 2020 ATP ASB Classic was $610,000.
| Stage | Singles Prize Money | Doubles Prize Money | ATP Points |
| Winner | $97,760 | $33,960 | 250 |
| Finals | $57,025 | $18,170 | 150 |
| Semi-finals | $33,525 | $10,660 | 90 |
| Quarter-Finals | $19,425 | $5,950 | 45 |
| 2nd Round | $11,280 | —– | 20 |
| 1st Round | $6,895 | $3,510 | 0 |
Keep in mind the prize money distribution and the amount may be different.
ATP ASB Classic Players List
As mentioned in the introduction, Casper Ruud, the world no. 3, runner-up in 2 Grand Slams and the 2022 ATP Finals, will be headlining the event at the beginning of 2023. But he isn’t the only player to keep an eye on. The youngster Holger Rune who secured the Paris Masters title over Novak Djokovic last season, and Cameron Norrie who won at Indian Wells will also be participating. Norrie, a former ASB Classic runner-up isn’t the only familiar face returning to play at Auckland. John Isner won his first title at ASB Classic and may well be on his way to recording his 3rd title. The reigning champion however, Ugo Humbert will not be returning to defend his title this time around.
ASB Classic Singles Top Seeds
| Seed | Player | Ranking |
| 1 | Casper Ruud | 3 |
| 2 | Holger Rune | 11 |
| 3 | Cameron Norrie | 14 |
| 4 | Diego Schwartzman | 25 |
| 5 | Francisco Cerundolo | 30 |
| 6 | Alexander Bublik | 37 |
| 7 | John Isner | 41 |
| 8 | Sebastian Baez | 43 |
Remaining Players
| Player | Ranking |
| Adrian Mannarino | 46 |
| Jenson Brooksby | 48 |
| Alex Molcan | 50 |
| David Goffin | 53 |
| Fabio Fogini | 55 |
| Pedro Cachin | 57 |
| Jaume Munar | 58 |
| Marcos Giron | 61 |
| Pedro Martinez | 62 |
| Quentin Halys | 64 |
| Constant Lestienne | 65 |
ATP ASB Classic Draws
The event will have 28 singles and 16 doubles draws that will be released as the tournament progresses from the 9th of January.
ATP ASB Classic 2023 Dates
The tournament will be held across 6 days from the 9th-14th January with qualifying rounds set to be played potentially on the 8th of January.
ATP ASB Classic 2023 Schedule
Event organizers have not released a full event schedule but it should be identical or very similar to previous editions. For our purposes, we have based the schedule for the upcoming ATP ASB Classic on the 2020 version.
| Dates | Singles Matches | Doubles Matches |
| 9th January | Round 1 | —— |
| 10th January | Round 1 | Round 1 |
| 11th January | Round 2 | Round 1 |
| 12th January | Quarter Finals | Quarter Finals |
| 13th January | Semi Finals | Semi Finals |
| 14th January | Finale | Finale |
Keep in mind the schedule may be different and subject to change,
ATP ASB Classic 2023 Tickets
Tickets for the ATP ASB Classic are valid per day/night session with 2 sessions per day of the event, except for the last 2 days of the event; the 13th and 14th. The tickets come in 3 types; a standard ticket, ground pass, or corporate. To learn more about the ticket types and corporate hospitality provided, click the link below.