China swept by "tennis fever"

The 2024 Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Guangzhou Open tennis tournament concluded on Oct. 27 in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong province. This event, which enjoys a history of 20 years, once again swept China with a "tennis fever."

"Breakthrough" is what defines China's tennis in 2024.

This year, Chinese tennis players have constantly made breakthroughs in their personal performance and world ranking. At the Paris Olympics, Zheng Qinwen claimed the women's singles gold, and the Chinese duo Zhang Zhizhen and Wang Xinyu won a silver in the mixed doubles. Their success made China's tennis a trending topic.

Besides, ticket sales of tennis tournaments in China soared. The Chinese people are having an increasingly higher passion for watching tennis games and joining the sport.

Chinese professional tennis player Zheng Qinwen enters the court of the quarterfinal of the WTA Wuhan Open tennis tournament, Oct. 11, 2024. (People's Daily Online/Zhou Guoqiang)

Unlike in table tennis and badminton, tennis has not been a traditional area of strength for China. The sport is demanding in skills, court conditions and training cost, which once hindered its development in China and made it difficult for the sport to get close to the public.

It was in 2004 when Chinese tennis players won a gold medal in the women's doubles at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens that the sport embarked on a development path with Chinese characteristics in China.

Medals won by Chinese athletes at the Paris Olympics brought a tennis boom in China.

Since the conclusion of the Paris Olympics, tennis has embraced explosive development in China, as proved by the non-stop inquiries received by tennis training agencies and the surge in the sales of tennis apparels and equipment.

The tennis tournaments being hosted across the country pushed the "tennis fever" to new highs. They provided opportunities to tennis fans to watch top-notch games and cheer for players around the courts.

Bai Xilin, director of the tennis administration center under the General Administration of Sport of China, believes that the prospering development of the sport of tennis is an epitome of China growing from a major sports country into a sporting powerhouse.

On the evening of Oct. 13, the women's singles final match of the WTA Wuhan Open tennis tournament was staged at the Optics Valley International Tennis Center in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province. The spectators stand was fully-seated, immersed in the cheers for Chinese player Zheng Qinwen.

Photo shows a game of the 2024 WTA Guangzhou Open tennis tournament. (Photo from the official Weibo page of the WTA Guangzhou Open tennis tournament)

According to statistics, both the single-day and total ticket sales of the WTA Wuhan Open made historical highs this time. A total of over 180,000 tennis fan visits were recorded watching the games, up 80 percent from the same period in 2019.

The China Open and Shanghai Masters tennis tournaments, which were held during China's National Day holiday in the beginning of October, delivered even more impressive results. The ticket revenue of the 2024 China Open surpassed 80 million yuan ($11.21 million), a 60 percent increase from last year, setting a new record in the tournament's history. The Shanghai Masters also broke event records for both attendance number and ticket sales, with over 220,000 spectator visits in person.

The sport of tennis mirrors drastic changes in Chinese people's lifestyles and will release huge consumption potential. Studies show that the sports industry soars when per capita GDP exceeds $8,000. As the living standard and ability of consumption of Chinese residents keep growing, the foundation for the popularization of tennis will be further cemented.

Expanded tennis population and sufficient tennis courts also contributed to the rapid development of the sport in China.

According to a 2021 report by the International Tennis Federation, China ranked second globally in tennis participation, with 19.92 million people involved in the sport, accounting for 22.9 percent of the world's tennis population. The country also had 49,767 tennis courts, the second highest number in the world.

China's tennis still enjoys immense growth space given the country's population and potential in economic and social development, Bai noted.

This year, many international tennis events were hosted in China, showcasing to the world the new vibrancy of China's tennis.

Photo shows a girl learning to play tennis in Wuning county, east China's Jiangxi province. With a population of only over 300,000, Wuning county is seeing over 13,000 primary and middle school students joining tennis training. (Photo from Workers' Daily)

According to Chinese Tennis Association, China hosted 98 international tennis tournaments in 48 cities this year, which were joined by athletes, coaches and technical officials from 52 countries and regions. These numbers prove the high recognition from the international tennis community for China's atmosphere and ability to host tennis events.

Tennis events are building a bridge for better communication and an image of openness and friendship.

In Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang province, Chinese professional tennis player Wu Yibing and Russian athlete Karen Khachanov toured the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, where they learned to make paper cutting and savored tea together. American player Coco Gauff and Spanish player Carlos Alcaraz jointly visited the Palace Museum in Beijing and posed for pictures in traditional Chinese costumes together.

What's more, the Shanghai Masters this year hosted an exhibition doubles match, in which Roger Federer teamed up with Chinese pop singer Eason Chan and faced off against Zhang Zhizhen and Olympic table tennis champion Fan Zhendong. This fun game that featured a sport-entertainment crossover attracted high attention from the world.

"China is gradually instilling Chinese sportsmanship and Chinese civilization in and will make its unique contribution to global tennis development," Bai said.