20 15, tennis in China ushered in a busy year. Take a professional tennis organization of WTA as an example. At present, there are seven intercontinental competitions in China, namely Beijing, Wuhan, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Tianjin and Zhuhai. Among these seven competitions, Zhuhai's Super Classic has replaced the previous "small year-end", ranking second in the world after the eight competitions held in the United States. In addition, WTA also held 125K series events in Suzhou, Nanchang, Nanjing and Ningbo, China.
Do we have too many tennis matches now? Let's review the history first. More than a decade ago, many fans may still remember that when the China Open was first held in Guang Cai Stadium, the organizers undertook a very important task: to popularize tennis etiquette on the court, so as not to affect the normal progress of the tournament. In order to improve the attendance rate and make the scene look better, even the aunts and grandfathers were dragged to watch the game for money, so there was a wonderful event of chatting and choosing dishes in the stands of the international tennis match.
Today, in the new competition venue-National Tennis Center, the hot ticketing scene, the atmosphere of orderly interaction on and off the court and the colorful carnival activities of China Net all prove that China Net has grown and the audience of China Net has matured. After experiencing growth setbacks such as irregular operation, audience failure, social incomprehension, and the withdrawal of famous players, the influence of the gradually mature China Net on Beijing is far from being accommodated by a sports event. After 12 years of development, Beijing has joined the groups in Miami, Indian Wells and even Madrid. When the world tennis world is discussing the topic of "the fifth Grand Slam", China Open has become a strong competitor.
Today's China Net is already a gathering of big names.
Perhaps it is the successful experience of China Net that makes the managers of other cities see the convenience of promoting the city image, city popularity and international competitiveness by holding tennis competitions. Therefore, in recent years, many cities favor tennis matches, and international organizations that are optimistic about the future tennis market in China are also willing to cooperate with China. According to a market survey conducted by WTA, when tennis returned to the Olympic family in Seoul Olympic Games in 1988, the tennis population in South China was only 1 10,000, but by 20 1 1 year, there were more than 30,000 tennis courts in China, with a regular tennis population of140,000 (according to the data of China Tennis Association,
First of all, the great development of domestic tennis matches benefits from fans from all over the world. Big stars who could only see on TV before came to the door one after another, and even got autographs and photos, which made the fans' "sense of gain" burst. On the other hand, the improvement of domestic competition level has also freed China's tennis "flowers" and "grass" from the pain of hard training. That was not the case. In the cheers of Zhuhai audience, China's Wang Yafan/Chen Liang defeated Spanish Garrigues/Santonga, the second seed of the tournament, in straight sets 6-4/6-3, and is expected to win the first doubles championship of the tournament and create a wild card champion.
Tennis is a sport that pays attention to historical traditions, and the glorious history is the most proud element of the four Grand Slams. Even the history of 250 ATP World Tour events such as Sydney Tennis Open can be traced back to 1885, which is one of the five oldest events in the world. Among the four Grand Slams, the youngest Australian Open has experienced a hundred years' development history, accumulated valuable wealth in business operation, event management, and training a stable audience, and formed a good tradition and habit of watching matches.
As a rising star in tennis, China has developed rapidly, but its longest history is only ten years. It takes long-term management to form the tradition and habit of watching the game, the tennis audience is not stable enough, and the audience's understanding of tennis culture is not deep enough. In many tennis matches, the audience is walking around, shouting at will, and the camera flash is interfering. These are the "growing pains" of tennis in China. At the same time, rapid development will also bring certain risks. For example, whether the event can develop healthily or not is the first consideration for the organizers. After all, the contract is signed for several years, which requires the organizers to put great efforts, patience and professionalism into the process of holding activities. In addition, rushing headlong into action will inevitably lead to a rising tide of competitive resources and high prices, which also tests the wisdom of project managers and local governments.