Big-name star players hold sway over local fans
Print Edition
THE organizers of the Shanghai Rolex Masters have admitted they have work cut out for them to groom tennis culture in the city with fans staying away from the premier event as big-name stars fell at the very first hurdle.
“For years, we have been building this event into one of the city’s “name-card,” said Jiang Lan, general manager of Juss Event. “Looking into the future, the task is clear for us: to cultivate more fans and promote tennis-related consumption in the local market.”
Shanghai is hosting the eight edition of the only ATP 1000 series in Asia.
With fans’ favorite Roger Federer missing out from this year’s event due to injury and star names like Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin del Potro bowing out early, spectators stayed away from the Qizhong Tennis Center in the early rounds. In the first two days, only hundreds of fans showed up at the center court for evening games, much less than the previous two years.
“It shows that there is still much work to do to build a more mature market and audience for the tournament and for the sport itself,” Jiang told reporters yesterday. “Tennis has only been promoted in Shanghai for the last two decades. Star players still hold a huge influence over the market. Therefore, the exit of big names takes away a certain number of fans from the venue.”
Going into the semifinals today, only two of top eight seeds — Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray — remain in the tournament. On a positive note however, up and coming players like Alexander Zverev and David Goffin were roundly cheered at the tournament.
“What we really need to do first is attract, cultivate and educate fans about the sport,” said Jiang.
The organizers roped in Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang and Olympic diver Wu Minxia for the main draw ceremony this year. Coaches and players from the two local Chinese Super League teams also attended the event on Wednesday.
“The presence of celebrities help in promoting the tournament,” said Jiang, who also suggested that he plans to hold year-round promotional activities.
Shanghai Rolex Masters is also cooperating with the Australian Open. Juss Event is working on tennis-related travel packages for overseas fans. At a survey conducted at Melbourne Park, over 7,500 fans expressed interest in traveling to Shanghai for the Rolex Masters.
“As a state-owned company, Juss’ task is to get more people involved in tennis and other sports, and enrich the cultural life of the city,” Jiang said.
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