This content was published 5 years ago. It may refer to a past edition of the Internazionali d’Italia.

With the start of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia just days away, players have been flocking to the practice courts at the Foro Italico. Among the early birds on Friday morning were 1999 champion Venus Williams and 2008 runner-up Stan Wawrinka, who spent time getting used to the conditions on Campo Centrale and Campo Pietrangeli respectively.

Campo Centrale also welcomed Angelique Kerber, Daria Gavrilova and Jack Sock on Friday morning with home favourites Roberta Vinci and Fabio Fognini scheduled to practise in the afternoon.

David Ferrer, who reached the final here in 2010, Kei Nishikori and Richard Gasquet also took to Campo Pietrangeli while Barcelona finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas is due to spend time on the same court later today as he prepares to make his debut at the tournament.

Other notable names on today’s practice schedule include Victoria Azarenka, who missed last year’s event following the birth of her son, US Open runner-up Madison Keys, Dominika Cibulkova and Svetlana Kuznetsova.

The gates are open to the public which allows fans, including many schoolchildren, the chance to watch some of their favourite players in a more relaxed atmosphere. Friday’s practice schedule is available to view on the website.

The draw for the 2018 Internazionali BNL d’Italia takes place at 6.30pm this evening at Campo Pietrangeli.