Tide News
On October 14, the main draw of the 2024 Ningbo Open Tennis Championships officially started.
On the evening of the 13th, Zheng Qinwen, who won the runner-up of the Wuhan Tennis Open, as the No. 2 seed player in this event, enjoyed a first-round bye. But even so, with only a two-to-three-day break, Zheng Qinwen will usher in the first match of the Ningbo Tennis Open.
In fact, from appearing at the Paris Olympics on July 28 to winning the gold medal on August 3, and then participating in the US Open on August 26 and reaching the quarterfinals; On September 28, he participated in the China Open Tennis Championships and reached the semifinals; On October 9, he appeared at the Wuhan Open Tennis Championships and won the runner-up...... In these 78 days, Zheng Qinwen was comparable to a "flying man", participating in 4 major competitions in a row and refreshing his record.
Zheng Qinwen returns the ball during the Wuhan Tennis Open. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Hu Jingwen
Especially in the accident injury at the China Open, Wuhan cold and fever with illness persisted, which can't help but distress the fans, this new "Chinese first sister" is too hard. At the same time, it also made many netizens question why the competition is so intensive.
In fact, the global professionalization of tennis has been going on for decades.
As one of the most internationalized, professional and commercialized sports, tennis will inevitably bring fierce competition, which will in turn drive the viewing of the event and the value of athletes' personal IP.
Because of this, in the 2024 WTA annual schedule announced by the WTA, there are more than 30 tournaments involving the four Grand Slams of the US Open, Wimbledon, French Open, and the Australian Open, as well as WAT500 or more, of which the four Grand Slam tournaments are concentrated in the first 8 months. If you include low-point events such as WTA 250 and WTA 125, there are matches almost every week throughout the year.
According to the annual schedule of WAT, from September to November every year, the WTA will usher in the Chinese season. According to the previously announced schedule, this year's WTA China season from the end of September to the beginning of November, a total of 6 tournaments are arranged: Beijing (China Open) 1000 Tournament, Wuhan 1000 Tournament, Ningbo 500 Tournament, Guangzhou 250 Tournament, Nanchang 250 Tournament, and Hong Kong 250 Tournament.
Zheng Qinwen at the Wuhan Open. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xiao Yijiu
An industry insider told reporters that such a close event, on the one hand, confirms the high degree of commercialization of tennis and the fact that there are many fans around the world; On the other hand, it is also convenient for athletes to better compete in China and obtain points.
For tennis players, by accumulating points, they can improve their world ranking, which in turn will earn them the opportunity to participate in more high-level tournaments and even enter professional tours and Grand Slam tournaments. Typically, Grand Slam tournaments have the highest number of points, followed by tours at all levels. For example, the winner will receive 1,000 points, the runner-up will receive 650 points, and the winner of the Ningbo Open will receive 500 points.
According to the qualification requirements of the WTA year-end finals, the top eight players will participate in the finals with the results of 16 tournaments in a year, that is, the points of 4 Grand Slams, 4 crowns, 2 super 5 and 6 best records. Therefore, tennis players need to constantly participate in tournaments to earn points.
WTA Points Rankings. Screenshot of the official website
With the runner-up in the Wuhan Open, the WTA official website announced the latest world rankings on the 14th, Zheng Qinwen ranked 7th with 4430 points, followed by United States player Navarro became Zheng Qinwen's biggest competitor in the year-end finals.
This also makes Zheng Qinwen full of expectations for the upcoming Ningbo Tennis Open.
But in the face of physical discomfort, Zheng Qinwen said on the evening of the 13th that his recent physical condition is not the best, and he has had a cold and fever twice in just two weeks, and this time he also took fever-reducing medicine to play, "The Ningbo Tennis Open is very important to me, but the body is also very important, and I will discuss it with the team and weigh it." ”
With Navarro's withdrawal from the Ningbo Tennis Open due to illness on the 14th, it also made Zheng Qinwen's road to the WTA finals clear. (Reporter Wang Bo)