Here’s everything you need to know about the Cincinnati Open, including the draw, who’s playing and the schedule. You can watch all the drama unfold live on Sky Sports Tennis.

Which players are in action on Thursday?

British men’s No 1 Jack Draper is back in on court against Greek ninth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round, live on Sky Sports Tennis from approximately 8pm UK time.

The pair have met once before, at the 2022 Canadian Open, where Draper got the better of his opponent in straight sets.

Kicking off the Thursday action is German third seed, and 2021 champion in Cincinnati, Alexander Zverev, who goes up against Karen Khachanov from 4pm.

That match on Centre Court is followed by the third seed from the women’s draw, Aryna Sabalenka, and her tournament opener against Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto, while defending champion Coco Gauff then faces Yulia Putintseva from roughly 8pm.

Opening the night session at midnight is men’s second seed, and four-time Grand Slam champion, Carlos Alcaraz, who takes on French veteran Gael Monfils.

Elsewhere, at 4pm, women’s fourth seed Elena Rybakina goes up against Canada’s Leylah Fernandez, who you may remember finished as runner-up during Emma Raducanu’s storied run to the 2021 US Open title.

Popular Italian Jasmine Paolini, a finalist at Wimbledon this year, follows Draper on court against Anastasia Potapova at approximately 10pm.

Teenage talent Mirra Andreeva is also in action around the same time, against Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic.

And finally, back to the men’s singles, we get our first look at sixth seed Andrey Rublev after his run to the final of the Canadian Open last week before losing to Alexei Popyrin. He takes on Zhizhen Zhang from around 6pm.

What Brits are in action? Why no Emma Raducanu?

Emma Raducanu failed to receive a wild card for the tournament in Cincinnati, but British No 1s Katie Boulter and Draper were entered into the women’s and men’s singles respectively.

Draper beat Spain’s Munar in his tournament opener on Wednesday, while Boulter was beaten in the first round by Poland’s Magda Linette.

Harriet Dart also suffered a first-round exit against Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan after the world No 77 had come through qualifying.

Cameron Norrie was due to participate in the men’s draw but pulled out of a third consecutive tournament due to injury which casts his participation at the US Open in doubt. Norrie has not played since the Swedish Open in mid-July, withdrawing from the Paris Olympics and Canadian Open.

Raducanu, the US Open champion in 2021, reached the quarter-finals of the Mubadala Citi Open in Washington earlier this month before losing to eventual champion Paolo Badosa.

That is now likely to be the 21-year-old’s last competitive action before heading to New York.

Who are the big names featuring in Cincinnati?

Alcaraz makes his return to hard courts following his Olympic silver medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion is seeded second and therefore enters the men’s singles in the second round where he will face Monfils.

Alcaraz could then potentially play Draper in the quarter-final, with the Brit having got the better of him 7-6 6-3 in their last meeting at Queen’s Club earlier this summer.

Men’s world No 1 Jannik Sinner and German third seed Zverev will look to challenge the Spaniard for the title, though they face a potential semi-final against each other.

In the women’s draw, Gauff looks to defend her title which helped tee up her first Grand Slam triumph at the US Open a few weeks later.

Meanwhile, world No 1 Iga Swiatek, Sabalenka, Rybakina and Paolini will all be aiming to reach their maiden final in Cincy.

The Cincinnati Open serves up as tune-up for the last Grand Slam of the year at Flushing Meadows, which begins on August 26 and is also live on Sky Sports.

Defending champion Djokovic withdraws

Defending Cincinnati Open champion Novak Djokovic withdrew from the tournament following on from completing the golden slam with his Olympic gold medal at Paris 2024.

The record 24-time Grand Slam champion beat Alcaraz 7-6 7-6 in the men’s singles final.

It was also the Spaniard who Djokovic beat to take the Cincinnati title last year, the Serbian emerging victorious 5-7 7-6 7-6 from an epic final which lasted for three hours and 49 minutes.

Djokovic is the defending champion of the US Open, having claimed his fourth title at Flushing Meadows and his most recent slam success there last year.

Cincinnati Open schedule

• Thursday, August 15 – Second and third round, live on Sky Sports Tennis from 4pm (night session at midnight)
• Friday, August 16 – Third round, live on Sky Sports Tennis from 4pm (night session at midnight)
• Saturday, August 17 – Quarter-finals, live on Sky Sports Tennis from 4pm (night session at midnight)
• Sunday, August 18 – Semi-finals, live on Sky Sports Tennis from 4pm (night session at 11pm)
• Monday, August 19 – Men’s and Women’s singles finals, live on Sky Sports Tennis from 6pm

What’s coming up on Sky Sports Tennis?

In the run-up to the final Grand Slam of 2024 – the US Open – you can watch all of the biggest tennis stars in action live on Sky Sports as they compete across the hard-court season.

• Cincinnati Open (ATP 1000) – 12-19 August
• Cincinnati Open (WTA 1000) – 13-19 August
• Winston-Salem Open (ATP 250) – 18-24 August
• Tennis in the Land, Cleveland (WTA 250) – 18-24 August
• Abierto GNP Seguros, Monterrey (WTA 500) – 19-24 August
• US Open (ATP/WTA) – 26 August – 8 September

Sky Sports+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app – giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost.