AS Chinese athletes have made history in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with a tennis singles gold medal and a mixed doubles silver — the best results in such events — the country is witnessing a “tennis economy” gaining momentum. Sales of tennis training courses more than doubled in July, and most hot time slots for tennis courts in first-tier cities like Beijing and Shanghai were fully booked in recent days, the Global Times reported. The historic achievements of Chinese tennis players at the Olympic Games are expected to further ignite the craze, fueling the country’s sports consumption, and opening up a huge market for sports training and tennis equipment sales, industry insiders said. Tennis ace Zheng Qinwen won the women’s singles gold Saturday, the first for China in its Olympic history. A day earlier, Zhang Zhizhen and Wang Xinyu claimed the silver medal in the mixed doubles. A market operation executive surnamed Zhang at the Beijing-based Bai Dong Tennis Academy said that driven by this year’s Olympic fever, the company’s tennis academy enrollments are on the rise, with heightened interest from young players during the summer vacation. “Star athletes such as Zheng Qinwen are setting inspiring examples for tennis enthusiasts, particularly among young people,” Zhang said, as quoted by the Global Times. Aaron Cao, CEO of the Beijing International Tennis Academy, said that China’s historic tennis breakthrough will drive a rise in court bookings and training lesson registrations, and it may also encourage previously hesitant parents to consider enrolling their children in tennis programs. Consultations for tennis training courses are already on the uptick in recent days, according to several Beijing-based tennis training institutions. Some also posted photos of Zheng’s victory moment in their commercials or social media accounts to garner more public attention. The overwhelming demand for tennis court reservations is further evidence of Chinese sports fans’ growing appetite for tennis. Tennis courts managed by the Beijing Tennis Administration Center are fully booked even on weekdays. According to data from e-commerce platform Meituan, tennis experience classes and quarterly tennis training packages are among its top sellers, with group-buying orders related to tennis jumping by 172% year-on-year, the Global Times said. Data from another platform, vip.com, showed that sales of tennis skirts are up 91% year-on-year. Searches for tennis skirts at Tmall also soared 256% during this year’s June 18 shopping carnival. Fu Zijun, a 25-year-old Shanghai tennis lover, has placed orders online to buy more professional gear. She is also preparing to sign up for a formal adult training course. “Tennis is becoming more accessible and appealing in China, shedding its previous image as an elite sport,” Fu said. According to a report published by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), China ranked second globally in tennis participation after the U.S. with 19.92 million participants in 2021, accounting for 22.9% of the global tennis population. Industry insiders anticipate that the number of tennis training institutions and tennis courts will expand amid the booming tennis economy, which in turn will predict the arrival of future tennis stars. China has the second-highest number of tennis courts in the world, totaling 49,767 in 2021, according to the ITF report. (SD-Agencies) | 