Client News
September to be ‘tennis month’ in China
Beijing, 31 August 2005 - Tennis fever is gripping China as the world’s most populous nation sits down to almost a month of saturation TV coverage of major tournaments at home and abroad.
Two weeks of all-night broadcasts from the US Open will be followed immediately by another fortnight of day-long programming for the second annual China Open.
Both tournaments are being covered live by state sports channel CCTV5, allowing fans to tune in to more than 300 hours of tennis.
With newspapers, radio and internet sites also carrying up-to-date news from the two events, September is truly “tennis month” in China.
CCTV5 is broadcasting the US Open for the first time since 1995 after achieving astonishing viewing figures for last year’s China Open.
“The China Open in 2004 was watched by a total audience of about 200 million – it was the No.1 broadcast for those two weeks,” said CCTV5 spokeswoman Qiao Dong Guang. “Many people were turning on because tennis is becoming more and more popular in China.
“That is why we have decided to broadcast the US Open for the first time in 10 years. And we fully expect people to continue watching when we start our China Open coverage.”
Mainland tennis fans are excitedly following the progress of superstars such as Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal and Russian sensation Maria Sharapova at New York’s Flushing Meadows because they know they will soon be seeing them in action in Beijing.
French Open champion Nadal heads a top-class men’s singles line-up for the China Open that also includes three former Grand Slam winners.
Sharapova – the biggest box office draw in tennis – will be joined in the women’s draw by the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, and world No.1 Lindsay Davenport.
China Open tournament director Ekkehard Rathgeber acknowledged that the action from New York was helping heighten expectations for the Beijing event.
“It’s certainly getting fans here in the mood,” said Rathgeber, who is also Chief Operating Officer of tournament co-organiser TOM Group Limited, an associate of Hutchison Whampoa Limited.
“Last year’s inaugural China Open had excellent attendance figures – the men’s and women’s finals were both 10,000-seat sellouts – and we expect even more people to come and watch this year.
“Tennis has really caught the Chinese public’s imagination and, like fans anywhere else in the world, they want to see the top players, whether it is on TV or live.
“The fact that the US Open is being broadcast live is giving our event extra publicity and boosting ticket sales. The Chinese fans can’t wait to see these players in the flesh.”
The China Open, to be held at the state-of-the-art Beijing Tennis Centre from September 10-25, will see Nadal, Davenport and Venus Williams all make their mainland debuts.
As with last year’s event, the tournament will see men’s singles and doubles played the first week (10-18 September) and women’s singles and doubles the following week (17-25 September).
Joining Nadal in the main men’s draw will be former French Open champions Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlos Moya, ex-Australian Open winner Thomas Johansson and Asia’s top player, Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand.
In the women’s singles, Venus Williams will be aiming to dethrone sister Serena, winner of the China Open last year, while stiff competition will come from Davenport and 2004 Wimbledon champion Sharapova.
From New York to Beijing, it all adds up to four weeks of non-stop action – and none of China’s tens of millions of tennis fans will be complaining.
“It’s great for the sport,” concluded Rathgeber, “and it’s great for the China Open. The tournament is already a success – this amount of interest is taking it to the next level.”
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Released on behalf of TOM Group and the China Open by Two Up Front - Asia’s sports PR specialists.