Tennis boom in full swing

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 in what has been a successful "China Swing".

Running through September to November, the China Swing brings ATP and WTA tournaments to multiple cities across China.

The 2025 swing drew nearly one million on-site spectators, generating about 250 million yuan ($37.5 million) in ticket revenue and driving over $2.4 billion in related consumption, according to the Tennis Administration Center of the General Administration of Sport of China (GASC).

The 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.

That 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-venue" viewing areas and ticket-stub economies, to wildcards tilted toward young Chinese players and the public picking up rackets.

Breakthroughs

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.

Zheng was not the only Chinese player to benefit from home advantage. Wildcard Sun reached the last 32 at the China Open, where her opponents grew in rank with each round.

"This tournament gave me opportunity to play against top players. This really motivated 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 the sport's administration center, noted that the China Swing provides more opportunities for homegrown players through wildcards and qualifying entries.

"It serves to unleash the potential of our domestic players and inspire their growth in the long run through high-level events," Bai said.

Economic aces

For overseas athletes and fans, the China Swing offers a chance to explore the host cities.

In Beijing, Novak Djokovic chose to stay near the Summer Palace. "I respect Chinese culture and tradition very much. It's a stunning place," said the 39-year-old.

"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.

"People come to watch the tennis not only for the competitions, but also to experience the cities hosting them. So, the organizers need to focus more on how an event can channel these visitors into a full range of urban consumption scenarios," said Huang Haiyan, a professor at Beijing Sport University.

According to the China Open organizing committee, total consumption during the tournament was estimated at about $8.2 million, up 55 percent year-on-year, with licensed product revenue doubling to $4.2 million. Over 450,000 visitors entered the National Tennis Center in Beijing, up 25 percent, including around 60 percent from other cities and nearly 10,000 international spectators.

Even though the Wuhan Open missed out on 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.

At the Shanghai Masters, around 250,000 on-site spectators watched the tournament, with two thirds hailing from outside Shanghai. "The total revenue reached $75 million, with sponsorship contributing roughly 50 percent and ticketing around 20 percent," said Yang Yibin, chairman of Shanghai Juss Sports and Entertainment Group.

"Tennis fans are a high per-capita spending group. They stay longer and always follow a complete consumption chain — tickets, catering, accommodation and tourism," 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 in 2024, up 15 percent year-on-year, according to the administration center.

Nurturing the sport

Chinese tennis player Ji Mianyi, 20, says the effect of the tennis boom can be seen among her family and friends.

"When the topic turns to sports, they used to think of table tennis or badminton first. But after Zheng won gold at the Paris Olympics, more people around me wanted to learn to play and were asking 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 administration center.

The number of courts in China 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, the sport in the country had around just two million participants and about 10,000 courts, according to figures from that year.

"There were far 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 GASC, but roughly 506,000 young players have competition records outside the registered system, according to the administration center.

Shanghai, home to the Masters, has maintained strong momentum. 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.

From professional tournaments to grassroots courts, tennis has been evolving into a lifestyle in China. "Tennis is an integral part of my life," said local enthusiast Zhu Lingjun, who plays three to four hours every week.

"International studies have found that long-term tennis participation can help extend people's lifespan by improving sleep and modulating the nervous system," Bai said. "Our goal is to ensure that tennis is accessible to everyone, and we are striving toward that vision."