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National tennis fever: Chinese stellar players and enthusiasts drive sport to new heights
en.hangzhou.com.cn 2024-10-22 14:51 Source: Global Times
Editor's Note:
Chinese tennis players' stellar performance at major international competitions this year has led to a skyrocketing of enthusiasm in the sport back in China, with audiences filling up domestic tennis events to full capacity and booking tennis courts becoming headaches. Will tennis be the next national sensation? Global Times journalists Lu Wenao and Wu Jie dig into the phenomenon.
Booking a tennis court has become a headache for Yang Qi, who started to play tennis for fun in April in Beijing.
"Booking a tennis court to train was relatively easy before the Summer Olympics," Yang told the Global Times. "I am a late starter in tennis who wants to learn, but I never expected the sport would become so popular."
Even though popularity of tennis had been steadily improving over the years in China, the sudden surge has been mainly attributed to Chinese tennis stars' triumph at the Paris Olympics, as 21-year-old Zheng Qinwen won a sensational women's singles Olympic gold medal, while Zhang Zhizhen and Wang Xinyu finished their mixed doubles campaign with a silver medal.
This year's tennis China swing has received unprecedented attention from the public. The three most prestigious tournaments of the China swing - China Open, Wuhan Open, and Shanghai Masters - have all seen full crowds.
According to China Open's organizing committee, this year's ticket sales have exceeded 80 million yuan ($11.25 million), with sales surpassing the total revenue from the entire 2023 season before the tournament even officially began.
October 2 witnessed a full capacity crowd at China Open as the day featured the men's singles final, coupled with Zheng Qinwen's appearance. It drew a crowd of 29,000, with over 13,000 fans filling the main Diamond Court at Beijing's National Tennis Centre to 100 percent capacity.
The Shanghai Masters also shattered attendance records, with over 220,000 spectators watching the tournament in person, and over 70 percent of the audience coming from outside of Shanghai.
At the Wuhan Open, held in Zheng's hometown in Hubei Province, women's world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus attributed the near capacity audience at the central court to her rival Zheng's Olympic win.
Author: Lu Wenao and Wu Jie Editor: Ye Lijiao
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