Tennis Looking For Post-Olympic Games Boom In China
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Olympic Bronze Medalist Zheng Jie
Contributing To Major Tennis Push In China |
Chinese women's tennis officials "hope to take advantage" of the attention tennis has recieved during the Beijing Olympics "to launch a major post-Games push for the sport," according to Canaves & Blumenstein of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour China Open will get a "major upgrade" in '09 to "join the top ranks of women's events." The tournament "will make use of the new tennis complex built for the Beijing Games." The WTA "has been organizing smaller-scale events in China since 1994, but the decision to use China as its base for the region underscores the growing importance of the country to the WTA and to the sport." Sports marketing experts said that "golf or tennis could become China's next big sport after basketball, but many give tennis the edge because of the Olympics." The WTA "is starting to discuss with Chinese tennis officials how to best improve the development of domestic players -- whether by sending more Chinese overseas for training, bringing the world's best coaches to China or setting up an international-standard tennis academy in Beijing within the next few years." WTA player Zheng Jie, who yesterday won the Bronze Medal in women's doubles tennis with partner Yan Zi, has become the "new face of tennis in China." Nike, the day after Zheng's quarterfinal win at Wimbledon, "had advertisements with images of her playing at [Wimbledon] and the slogan, 'I am breakthrough'" (WSJ.com, 8/18).
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