The Zhuhai Championships, one of Zhuhai's annual tennis events, will be held from September 23 to 29. On April 26, the organizer of the event, Huafa Group, held a press conference at the Genting Ballroom on the 72nd floor of the Zhuhai Center Building, announcing the current world No. 8 and Greece player Stephanos ·Tsitsipas, Australian star Nick Kyrgios (Stefanos Tsitsipas) and Spain players Roberto Bautista ·· Bautista · Roberto Bautista Agut) and other recent high-profile players in men's tennis will compete in the inaugural Zhuhai Championship.

Adhering to the slogan of "Love Tennis, Come to Zhuhai", this event sincerely invites fans from all over the world to come to Zhuhai to experience the charm of tennis and the beauty of the city!

Wan Jianbin, Director of the Competition Department of the Tennis Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, Huang Ying, Deputy Secretary-General of the Zhuhai Municipal People's Government, Charles Smith, ATP Board Director, Zhai Ming, Deputy Director of the Zhuhai Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports, Wang Yulan, Deputy Section Chief of the Social Affairs Bureau of Hengqin New Area, Xi Xiaole, Executive Director and President of Zhuhai Huafa Modern Service Investment Holding Co., Ltd., and Lv Pinde, Executive Director and General Manager of Zhuhai Huafa Sports Operation and Management Co., Ltd, Sun Lei, tournament director of the Zhuhai Tennis Championship, and other guests attended the press conference.

At the press conference, Wan Jianbin, Director of the Competition Department of the Tennis Management Center of the General Administration of Sports of the People's Republic of China, congratulated the landing of the Zhuhai Tennis Championships, saying: "Zhuhai has a very strong tennis tradition and atmosphere, and we are happy to see the ATP Tour in this city and have high hopes. ”

Wan Jianbin, Director of the Competition Department of the Tennis Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sports of China

Hosted by the Chinese Tennis Association and the Zhuhai Municipal People's Government, the Zhuhai Tennis Championship, hosted by Huafa Group, has a prize fund of up to US$1 million, making it one of the tournaments with the highest prize money in the ATP 250 Series Tour. Singles champions can receive up to more than $160,000 in prize money and the tournament is divided into 28 singles and 16 doubles. It is reported that in addition to Tsitsipas and Kyrgios, Spain stars Batista · Agut will also participate in this tournament, and the Spain have defeated world No. 1 Djokovic twice on tour this year, and this appearance in Zhuhai is also quite expected by fans. The full draw lineup will be released in August.

With the arrival of the first Zhuhai Tennis Championships, Zhuhai will become the only ATP Tour event in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, making Zhuhai the only city in South China to host ATP Tour and WTA Tour events. It is an important milestone to enhance the city's influence and create a tourist destination.

Huang Ying, Deputy Secretary-General of Zhuhai Municipal People's Government

Huang Ying, Deputy Secretary-General of the Zhuhai Municipal People's Government, said: "2019 marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the 20th anniversary of Macao's return to the motherland and the 40th anniversary of the founding of Zhuhai. At present, the State Council has officially approved the construction plan of Hengqin International Leisure Tourism Island, Zhuhai ushered in the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge brought by the important historical opportunity, standing at such a major historical node, holding important sports events in 2019 is one of the important ways to test the level of comprehensive management of the city, create a tourist destination in Zhuhai, enhance the influence of the city, and show the brilliant achievements of reform and opening up. Therefore, we will definitely be a good 'host' and do our best to build the Zhuhai Tennis Championship into an internationally renowned, industry-leading, market-welcome, and audience-loved tennis event." By holding large-scale sports events, Zhuhai's sports industry will be developed and Zhuhai's urban development will be promoted. ”

ATP Board Member Shi Chengwei

ATP Board Member Charles Smith (ATPBoard Director) said that the tournament is actively inviting and building an impressive lineup of star players, and believes that fans throughout the Greater Bay Area will want to witness the first stop of the Asian season and the only ATP World Tour event in South China.

With nearly five months to go before the event, the Zhuhai Tennis Championship has already won three powerful and famous players, which can be described as one of the strongest tournaments in the same level. The 20-year-old Greece-American teenager Tsitsipas defeated Federer, the king of Switzerland and 20 Grand Slams, at this year's Australian Open, becoming one of the few "post-95" players in men's tennis to reach the semifinals Greece of a Grand Slam. Kyrgios and Agut, who participated in this year's Zhuhai Tennis Championships, are Australia's most talented rookies in recent years, not only knocking out supergiants such as Federer, Nadal and Djokovic in the tournament many times, but also setting off an alternative whirlwind in the tennis world. The latter is Spain's "second brother", who has won the singles title in Doha this year.

World No. 35 – the most exciting and entertaining player on the tour – Kyrgios from Australia. He is a five-time ATP champion and has reached eight ATP finals, including the 2017 Cincinnati Masters. He has a very special record, having beaten Federer, Nadal and Djokovic in their first meetings. At last month's ATP 500 Acapulco, he won the tournament with victories over Wawrinka, Zverev Jr. and Rafael Nadal.

Agutte, currently ranked 21st in the world, from Spain. He has remained in the top 20 in the world for many years and has won nine ATP titles. He won the competitive Doha title at the beginning of the year, especially this year, where he has beaten Djokovic twice.

Greece's Tsitsipas, who has improved rapidly in the past 12 months, is a talented player who has reached the top 8 in the world at just 20 years old. Tsitsipas has won two ATP titles so far, beating Federer and reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open in January. Sure he will have a promising career, this is the perfect opportunity for Zhuhai fans to get up close and personal with the high-profile future tennis superstar.

Sun Lei, tournament director of the Zhuhai Tennis Championships

In this regard, Sun Lei, tournament director of the Zhuhai Tennis Championship, said: "We are very happy to invite three representative players, Tsitsipas, Kyrgios and Agut, to participate in the Zhuhai Tennis Championship. It is expected that the star lineup of the tournament will continue to increase, and we look forward to witnessing the peak showdown of the world's top men's players at the Hengqin International Tennis Center with the fans in the golden autumn of September! ”。

It was learned at the scene that in order to welcome the 2019 Zhuhai Tennis Championship and improve the quality of the event, the organizer Huafa Group will upgrade the existing venues, add roofs to the two outdoor competition venues, and increase the seats of one of them by nearly 800 to form a sub-center court. After the completion of the upgrade, the Hengqin International Tennis Center will have 5 roofed courts, which can not only greatly improve the viewing experience of spectators and fans, but also effectively reduce the impact of rainy weather on the game and ensure that the game is carried out smoothly on time.

As the organizer of the event, HUAFA Group has rich experience in hosting large-scale sports events. Xi Xiaole, executive director and president of Zhuhai Huafa Modern Service Investment Holding Co., Ltd., said that as the organizer, Huafa Group actively undertakes major sports events that can enhance the city's influence and show the city's development achievements. In the process of exploring the '1+3' development model of 'technology + finance + industry + city', Huafa Group continues to innovate and explore the development model of 'sports + tourism', continuously enriches the connotation of Hengqin International Leisure Tourism Island, actively connects with the moderately diversified development direction of Macao's economy, helps Zhuhai build an internationally renowned tourist destination, and serves the overall development and construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

It is reported that at the same time as the Zhuhai Tennis Championship, several major Zhuhai tennis public welfare activities such as "College Tennis Tournament", "Tennis into Campus", "Tennis into the Community" and "Caddie Selection" will also be carried out in stages, and on the basis of the past few years, the participation of citizens will be continuously improved. At the same time, in 2018, the number of visitors to the Hengqin International Tennis Center reached a new high, and the number of visitors exceeded 48,000 during the Zhuhai WTA Super Classic Tournament alone, indirectly creating nearly 660 million economic value for Zhuhai. The addition of the Zhuhai Championship may bring a new wave of cultural, sports and tourism revenue to Zhuhai.

According to the ATP World Tour schedule, the 2019 Zhuhai Tennis Championship will be one of the opening events of the Asian Swing season, and the tournament will also be held a week before the "National Day Golden Week", and Chinese fans will start a competitive and exciting journey in China from the Zhuhai Tennis Championship.

About the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP)

The Professional Tennis Federation was founded in 1972 to protect the interests of professional male tennis players. Beginning in 1990, the federation organized the Global Tennis Tour, which was later named the "ATP World Tour".

ATP is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, and currently has multiple tournaments at all levels such as the ATP Finals, ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Series, 500 Series, 250 Series and ATP Challenger Tournaments. So far, China has four ATP Tour tournaments, covering the Masters 1000, 500 series and 250 series, and several cities across the country have held ATP Challenger tournaments.