'China Swing' proves to be an economic grand slam

No shining home stars, no problem — China's thriving tennis market has capped off a strong year of business, with tournament revenue and the sport's popularity scaling new heights in 2025.

Despite the country's top aces' injury plagued campaigns on the professional tours, tennis fever ignited by the Olympic success in 2024 has kept burning hot over the past season, propelling public consumption in businesses around tournament operation, training and tourism to record numbers throughout the past year.

From September to November, nine tour-level tournaments on the men's and women's pro circuits had been held across China, highlighted by the top-flight WTA1000 China Open in Beijing and equivalent ATP Masters event in Shanghai, drawing a massive fan following, media exposure and sponsorship interest during the autumn "China Swing".

Combined revenues of the nine tournaments have exceeded 1 billion yuan ($142.5 million) this year, with total ticket revenue setting a new record of 250 million yuan, according to figures released on Dec 18 by the tennis administrative center under the General Administration of Sport of China.

Drawn by a glittering cast of international stars, the two biggest tournaments, the China Open and Rolex Shanghai Masters, each registered all-time-high spectator attendances at 360,000 and 250,000, respectively, with surging visitor flows during the weeklong National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holidays turning the two events into hot tourism destinations.

"The tournament has emerged as a huge contributor to the holiday economy in Shanghai, which has more than met our expectations and goals," said Yang Yibin, chairman of Juss Sports, the organizing and promoting company of the Shanghai Masters.

Collectively, the nine tournaments contributed to a total tourism revenue of 16 billion yuan across their host cities, paying dividends for businesses around catering, accommodation, sightseeing, exhibitions and souvenir sales, according to the tennis center.

"To promote the 'China Swing' brand, with all tournaments included in the package, has proved an important and successful initiative,"Ding Xianghua, a deputy director of the center, said during a season review meeting last week.

"The stats and analysis have told the story, proving the strong momentum of the China Swing and its beneficial impact on opening up more growth opportunities for relevant businesses."

According to data released in April, China's tennis-playing population has surpassed 25 million, up 28 percent from 2021, while the total number of courts has increased to nearly 54,000.

The growing interest at the grassroots level has resulted in quality young talent emerging in greater quantities, underlined by Chinese prodigies' impressive performances at two recent international junior events held in Florida — the Orange Bowl tournament and the IMG Academy championships.

In the U18 girls category, 15-year-old Sun Xinran won China's first singles title at the Orange Bowl, a renowned cradle for future major champions, on Dec 14, after her younger counterparts He Rui and Zou Fangqiao captured the boys' and girls' titles, respectively, in the U12 group at the IMG Academy tournament a week earlier.

Eight of 25 juniors representing the Chinese Tennis Association at the two tournaments advanced into their respective singles finals, serving up a convincing testament to the country's productive youth cultivation in recent years, according to Bai Xilin, director of the tennis administrative center.

"This is a vivid snapshot of the scale of our reserve talent. The depth of our youth ranks is continuing to grow," Bai told Xinhua.

To better tap into the sport's potential, both from the talent development standpoint and business aspect, the WTA has added five new 125-category, entry-level tournaments in China this year, lowering the threshold for more young players to turn pro and more marketing opportunities for potential business partners.

"We hope to build a stage for all the up-and-coming players to launch the pursuit of their professional dreams," Helene He, WTA Asia-Pacific director of operations, said in September. "We'd like to also develop it into a sports entertainment event that will benefit local tourism and cultural promotion."