China is hosting a growing number of WTA events starting this 2014 season, a clear indication that tennis is making its presence more prominently in Asia.
A new WTA event is added in the calendar, this time at the Chinese city of Tianjin, where former world number 14 Peng Shuai is based.
The Tianjin Open will be a WTA International-level tournament that will take place from October 6 to 12 at the Tianjin International Tennis Center. The venue can set up to 3,500 people. There are 12 outdoor tennis courts equipped with lights, a tennis club and four indoor courts.
China now has six WTA-level tournaments. There are two Premier-level events in Beijing and Wuhan and four International-level events in Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Tianjin.
Last Friday, a press conference officially announcing the launch of the event took place. Those present included Li Lingwei, Deputy Director of the Tennis Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China; Ryan Sandilands, the WTA’s Asia-Pacific CEO; Liu Shuhua, Deputy Director of the Tianjin Sport Bureau; Ji Guoqiang, Party Secretary of Jinghai County, Tianjin; Zhang Jinli, Deputy Mayor of Jinghai County People’s Government, Tianjin; Tony Cho, the Tournament Director of the Tianjin Open; Andy Hon, the Chairman of APG; Tian Wen, Chairman of Tianjin Municipal Construction Group; Olympic gymnast Lou Yun; and He Wenyi, Director of Chinese Sport Industry Research Center at Peking University
Check out Peng Shuai as she invites fans to watch the inaugural Tianjin Open 2014:
