Hardly an empty seat remained around Diamond Court at the National Tennis Center in north Beijing on October 8 as the four finals of the China Tennis Open 2017 took place one after another from noon to evening.  

The China Open is the only international tennis tournament whose name includes the word China. Since it was launched in 2004, the competition has grown from a little-known and low-grade tournament to an internationally renowned event. In 2009, the China Open was upgraded to rank among the world’s top eight tennis tournaments and as a first-class tournament in Asia. The women’s competition is one of the four WTA Premier Mandatory events; and the men’s, one of the 11 ATP World Tour 500 events.  

The China Open attracts world famous tennis stars. This year’s tournament, which kicked off on September 24, was no exception; most of the top 10 big shots in the ATP and WTA rankings took part. The global top three women players--Simona Halep, Garbine Muguruza and Karolina Pliskova--gathered in Beijing as did greats of the men’s game such as Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Alexander Zverev.  

Besides the professional competition, the China Open stages various sideline events to promote tennis among ordinary people. The two-week-long tournament has become an international brand of Beijing and a sporting gala for tennis lovers across China.  

 (Photos by Jiang Xiaoying) 

Copyedited by Chris Surtees 

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