On July 30th, the opening ceremony of the Nansha leg of the 2024 ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors (J60) took place at the Guangzhou Nansha International Tennis Center. The event marked that Nansha has achieved a "full house" of international tennis tournaments including the WTA, ATP, and ITF.
Spanning eight days, over 200 athletes from more than ten countries and regions, including China, South Korea, Canada, Italy, Portugal, Brazil, Australia, Singapore, and Japan, will compete for the titles in men's singles, men's doubles, women's singles, and women's doubles. The finals are scheduled to be unveiled on August 4th.
(Photo: Nansha Fabu)
Kevin, who has lived in Guangzhou for two years and is participating in a tournament in Nansha for the first time, expressed his excitement, stating, "The venues in Nansha are excellent. Both the facilities and the environment make me feel comfortable and delighted. This is undoubtedly an ideal place for competitions."
Acknowledging the challenges ahead, Kevin remained confident in his preparation and abilities, saying, "I just won a match today, but even when I'm not playing, I'm still observing others to gain experience. I hope to be in better shape for every match and achieve good results in Nansha!"
A 16-year-old girl from Hebei Province, Tang Xiao, won a crucial group stage match with an outstanding performance. She shared, "I started playing tennis at the age of six. It's been ten years of hard work, and I'm thrilled to win this match here!" Remaining focused on the upcoming matches, she emphasized, "Every group stage match is crucial, and I must give it my all."
Particularly noteworthy is the unexpected comfort provided by Nansha's indoor tennis courts. Tang Xiao remarked, "The indoor environment here is really cool, making me feel very comfortable and able to focus better on the game."
(Photo: Nansha Fabu)
In recent years, Nansha has continuously promoted the high-quality development of tennis, actively building a tennis tournament system led by high-standard competitions. Earlier this year, Nansha successfully hosted the China Tennis Juniors Tour CTJ-A2000 and Guangzhou Tennis Juniors Open CTJ-B500. The hosting of the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors marked another significant step for Nansha in strengthening tennis talent cultivation and supporting the development of junior tennis.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF), founded in 1913, is the oldest among the three major global tennis organizations. Composed of national tennis associations from around the world, it currently has over 200 member nations.
The ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors (J60) held in Nansha falls under the ITF's junior events, catering to players aged 18 and under. With hundreds of tournaments held globally every year, champions in these events earn points corresponding to their level, with the Nansha leg offering 60 points for the winners.
Reporter | Abby
Editor | Nan, James
