by Sportswriters Li Chunyu, Li Bowen
BEIJING, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- As 16-year-old home prodigy Sun Xinran clinched the women's singles title at the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals in Chengdu on Sunday, Chinese tennis embraced another highlight this autumn besides the ATP and WTA tournaments in the China Swing.
Running through September to November, the China Swing covers cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. The 2025 edition drew nearly one million on-site spectators, generating about 250 million yuan (37.5 million U.S. dollars) in ticket revenue and driving over 2.4 billion dollars in related consumption, according to the Tennis Administration Center.
The Tennis Administration Center had already moved to sustain that momentum, issuing reform measures in 2025 covering event supply, talent development and public participation. This September, ahead of the National Day holiday, the General Office of the State Council issued guidelines on unleashing the potential of sports consumption, explicitly supporting high-level professional events such as tennis.
The policy push and the season's momentum have met this autumn. The China Swing has become a window into China's tennis industry and sports-event consumption: from "second-screen" viewing areas to ticket-stub economies, from wild cards tilted toward young Chinese players to a public picking up rackets.
BREAKTHROUGHS AT HOME
Zheng Qinwen's triumph at the China Open was one of the most remarkable moments. The Olympic champion claimed her maiden WTA 1000 title to become the first Chinese player to win the tournament's women's singles crown.
"To play in China is like the fifth Grand Slam for me. I want to perform super well in front of my people," said Zheng, who celebrated her 24th birthday during the China Open in Beijing. "Coming back from the elbow injury, I find my inner fire back and want to be a more aggressive player."
Zheng was not the only Chinese player to benefit from home tournaments. Wild card Sun reached the women's singles last 32 at the China Open, where she faced opponents of rising rank with each round.
"This tournament gave me opportunity to play against top players. From the first round to the third round, my opponents are getting higher in their rankings. This really motivates me to improve myself," said Sun, who took the girls' singles title at this year's US Open.
At the Wuhan Open, qualifier Shi Han upset Alexandra Eala of the Philippines for her first WTA 1000 main-draw win.
Bai Xilin, director of China's Tennis Administration Center, noted that the China Swing provides more opportunities for home players with wild cards and qualifying matches.
"It serves to unleash the potential of our domestic players and inspire their growth in a long run through high-level events," Bai said.
For overseas athletes, the China Swing offers a chance to explore the host cities. Novak Djokovic took the Summer Palace as a favorite destination.
"I respect Chinese culture and tradition very much. Actually I was staying in a hotel that is just next to the Summer Palace. I've been going there every day. No joke. It's a stunning place more than just nature," said the 39-year-old Djokovic, who claimed his seventh China Open men's singles title this year.
"Tennis brings together players and fans from different countries and backgrounds. Through the tournament coverage and the players' own social channels, international audiences can also discover more aspects of China," said Fabrice Chouquet, a WTA senior official.
ECONOMIC ACES
For Vietnamese businessman Dang Phu, his destination in China has always been the Canton Fair in autumn. But this year, he and colleagues arrived earlier than usual to watch the Wuhan Open and then the Shanghai Masters.
"We wanted to see top players compete in person and experience the atmosphere," Dang said.
"People came to watch the match not only for the competition itself, but to feel the urban life. So, the organizers need to focus more on how an event can draw larger crowds and channel these visitors into a full range of consumption scenarios across the host city," said Huang Haiyan, a professor at Beijing Sport University.
According to the China Open organizing committee, total consumption during the tournament is projected to exceed 8.2 million dollars, up 55 percent year-on-year, with licensed product revenue doubling to 4.2 million dollars. Over 450,000 visitors entered the National Tennis Center, up 25 percent, including around 60 percent from other cities and nearly 10,000 international spectators.
Even though the Wuhan Open was not scheduled for the National Day holiday this year and home favorite Zheng was absent through injury, the tournament still drew 202,700 on-site spectators, 48 percent of whom traveled from other cities.
"The tournament not only drives direct spending on tickets, licensed products and catering services, but also spurs consumption on accommodation, transport and tourism," said Hong Xuyan, deputy director of the Wuhan Sports Bureau.
At the Shanghai Masters, around 248,000 on-site spectators watched the tournament, two thirds from outside Shanghai. "The total revenue reached 75 million dollars, with sponsorship contributing roughly 50 percent and ticketing for 20 percent," said Yang Yibin, chairman of Shanghai Juss Sports Development Group.
"Tennis fans feature high per-capita spending. They stay longer and always follow a complete consumption chain spanning tickets, catering, accommodation and tourism for multiplier effect," noted Wang Xueli, a professor at Tsinghua University's School of Economics and Management.
The broader industry is growing too. China's tennis industry was worth 5.5 billion dollars in 2024, up 15 percent year-on-year, according to the Tennis Administration Center.
NURTURING TENNIS CULTURE
Chinese tennis player Ji Mianyi, 20, sensed the tennis boom through her family and friends.
"When the topic turns to sports, they used to think of table tennis or badminton first. But after Zheng won the women's singles gold at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, more people around me wanted to learn from scratch and asked me how long it takes to be able to compete," Ji said.
Her observations are borne out by the data. China's tennis population reached 25.19 million in 2024, up 28.03 percent from 19.67 million in 2021 and about a quarter of the global total, according to the Tennis Administration Center. The number of courts rose from 49,767 to 53,805 over the same period, up 8.12 percent.
Two decades ago, when Zheng Jie and Yan Zi claimed China's first women's doubles Grand Slam title at the 2006 Australian Open, tennis still seemed far from most Chinese people. The country had nearly two million participants and about 10,000 courts, according to figures from that year.
"There were much fewer youth tennis tournaments in China at that time," Zheng Jie recalled. "Then, the outstanding performance of Chinese players, including Li Na and Zheng Qinwen, kept stoking public enthusiasm for tennis."
By 2025, Guangdong, Sichuan, Hubei, Beijing and Zhejiang are the top five regions by tennis population, all hosting ATP or WTA tournaments as part of the China Swing. Only 5,402 youth players are registered with the General Administration of Sport, but roughly 506,000 young players have competition records outside the registered system, according to the Tennis Administration Center.
Shanghai, home to the Masters, has maintained strong momentum. At the PMAX Tennis Center, its 12 courts have become a thriving hub.
"Our tennis center hosts training courses and tournaments, catering to enthusiasts of different stages," introduced Jia Jingzhe, one of the center's partners. "Powered by this model, the center's monthly revenue has been around 200,000 dollars since March this year, more than quadrupling over four years compared with 2022."
Among the customers at PMAX, adults account for more than 60 percent, with women in the majority. According to the Shanghai Tennis Association, the city's tennis-playing population reached 980,000 in 2025, and more than 30 newly opened venues added over 100 standard courts.
"Tennis is an integral part of my life," said enthusiast Zhu Lingjun, who plays three to four hours every week and uses AI to review her game.
From professional tournaments to grassroots courts, tennis has been evolving into a lifestyle in China.
"International studies have found that long-term tennis participation can help extend people's lifespan by improving sleep and modulating nervous system," Bai said. "Our goal is to ensure that tennis is accessible to everyone, and we are striving toward that vision." ■
