Star power lights up city ahead of WTA showcase

With the season finale of women's tennis just around the corner, running into star players has become an everyday occurrence in this southern coastal city.

From Zhuhai's community courts to the city's popular beach and famous ocean park, unexpected appearances of some of the world's top pros thrilled fans ahead of today's start of the Women's Tennis Association Elite Trophy tournament.

As most parts of downtown's Zhongzhu Community Park became quiet at dinner time on Saturday, the outdoor tennis courts remained bustling, with the arrival of Chinese ace Zhang Shuai drawing fans from the neighborhood to the tournament's Tennis in Community activity.

Zhang, always an intense and serious player on court, loosened up during the hourlong interaction with fans in a doubles exhibition before instructing youngsters in how to hold and swing their rackets.

"I didn't expect to see so many people actually playing tennis here as part of their weekend routine. I thought they just watched the game on TV," said the world No 33, who entered the tournament through a wild card.

"As a new destination of pro tennis in this part of the country, Zhuhai really deserves the sport's best as the city shows why it is labeled a tennis hub.

"I think for us it's not just about playing our own matches to the best of our ability, but getting as many people interested in the sport as possible," said the 29-year-old Tianjin native.

As the year-end event on the WTA circuit, the Elite Trophy tournament features 11 of the world's top 20 singles players, plus one wild card, and the best six doubles pairs to compete in round-robin formats at Hengqin International Tennis Center.

The tournament provides a total prize pool of $2.35 million and an enticing 700 ranking points for the singles winner to finish the year strong.

Organized by the State-owned Zhuhai Huafa Group, the tournament has spared no effort in bringing its stars to the public in community outreach programs since its inception in 2015.

The appearances of world No 12 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and Estonia's 20th-ranked Anett Kontaveit at Zhuhai's central beach made the popular tourist spot even more crowded on Sunday morning, when they squared off in a beach tennis exhibition.

Later, at the restaurant in the Sheraton Zhuhai, the tournament's official hotel, French star Caroline Garcia had her own pre-competition relaxation by learning how to make traditional Cantonese dim sum with doubles pair Lyudmyla and Nadiia Kichenok of Ukraine.

Garcia, who has a winning record in China that includes titles in Tianjin earlier this month and Beijing last year, said the culture experience has always played a major part in the off-court attraction of Chinese tournaments.

Of all the players in the Zhuhai lineup, defending champion Julia Goerges made the most unique journey.

After arriving in Hong Kong from Europe on Saturday, the German took a chauffeured ride to Zhuhai over the epic Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, which opened to traffic on Oct 24.

The 55-kilometer bridge is the world's longest sea-spanning structure that cuts the once arduous journey from Hong Kong to Zhuhai to just half an hour.

"It was a great experience because a lot of things were written in the newspapers in Germany about it. I think I am very lucky and privileged to have done it," said the 29-year-old world No 14.

Still, Goerges wasn't the first star to experience the spectacle of the mega project as her compatriot Steffi Graf, the legendary 22-time major winner, played a mini match against Garcia on the bridge construction site in 2016 in her role as tournament ambassador.

Graf, who hosted a youth tennis clinic during her stay in Zhuhai last year, will appear in a meet-and-greet event at a downtown shopping mall on Nov 4 to continue helping raise the event's profile.

"After hearing how the tournament is perceived and how it creates a buzz and the chances for local people to see some of the top players, it's very exciting to see that happen. It's essential for the growth of the sport here," Graf said.