【November 17, 2016】The first Grand Slam tournament of 2017, the Australia Open, will start on January 16 next year, and the main tournament has not officially begun, and the Australian Open Asia-Pacific Wild Card Tournament will kick off at the Hengqin International Tennis Center in Zhuhai on the 28th of this month, which is the first time since the establishment of the Australian Open Asia-Pacific Wild Card Tournament in Zhuhai that the venue will be held in Zhuhai.

Zhuhai Hengqin International Tennis Centre has already hosted the Zhuhai WTA Super Classic, the ATP Pro Men's Tennis Challenge and the ITF Women's Tennis Tour, adding the Australian Open Asia-Pacific Wild Card Tournament to Zhuhai and making Zhuhai the first city to include ATP, WTA, ITF and Grand Slam-related tournaments.

What is the Australian Open Asia-Pacific Wild Card Tournament?

The Australia Open is one of the four major tennis tournaments, attracting many of the top players in tennis every year, and in addition to directly entering the main draw and wildcard by virtue of their ranking, the official Australian Open committee also gives lower-ranked players a chance to compete for a ticket to the main tournament through the wild card competition.

The 2017 Australian Open Wild Card Tournament has two regions, the Australian Mainland and the Asia-Pacific Region. The Australian tournament was held at Melbourne Park, the venue of the Australian Open, while the Asia-Pacific tournament was moved to Zhuhai this year. Because of the success of Chinese players such as Li Na, the Australian Open Asia-Pacific wild card tournament has been held in China, and Nanjing and Shenzhen have previously held Australian Open wild card tournaments.

Melbourne Park and Australian Open Blue

The Australia Open was founded in 1905 and has a history of 100 years. At the beginning of the competition, the competition was named the "Australasian Championship"; In 1969, tennis entered the Open era, and the Australian Open, along with the other three Grand Slams, became the pinnacle of tennis players' careers. Despite being the youngest Grand Slam tournament, the Australian Open has become more and more famous in recent years due to the improvement of software and hardware facilities, and has been rated as the player's favorite Grand Slam tournament many times.

In 1988, the Australian Open was moved from the Kuyan Stadium to Melbourne Park, which became a symbol of the Australian Open. In 2008, the Australian Open abandoned the green court that had been used for many years, changed the color of the court to blue, and named it "Australian Open Blue", which is still used today. In order to match the color tone of the Australian Open, the tennis court of the Hengqin International Tennis Center will also be painted blue, so that fans can experience the wonderful and colorful Australian Open culture without going to Melbourne Park.

Australian Open Championship Trophy & Touring Exhibition
 

Like other Grand Slam tournaments with a long history, the history of the Australian Open is recorded in the trophies. The name of the winner of each Australia Open tennis tournament will be permanently engraved on the championship trophy. In honour of Australian legend Norman · Brooke, the men's singles championship trophy is named the "Norman · Brooke Challenge Cup", and each champion will enjoy the glory of the championship with this legend. Similarly, the Women's Singles Championship Trophy also has a very nice name, and the Women's Singles Championship Trophy is named "Daphne · Axhurst Memorial Cup". In 2014, Li Na lifted the Daphne Cup after two halberds.

From November 28th to December 4th, the Australian Open Asia-Pacific Wild Card Tournament will be held at the Hengqin International Tennis Center in Zhuhai, in order to allow fans to enjoy the Australian Open in advance and experience the Australian Open culture, from November 26th, the Australian Open trophy will be displayed in many places in Zhuhai, including Huafa Commercial City, Zhuhai Fishergirl, Sheraton Huafa Hotel Lobby, Zhuhai Huafa Hengqin Tennis Center Venue and other iconic places, then Zhuhai citizens will be able to feast their eyes!

Australian Open Asia-Pacific Wild Card Tournament Hand in hand with Zhuhai

On November 2, during the Zhuhai WTA Super Classic, Darren · Sturges, Director of the Australia Open Asia Pacific Wild Card Tournament, together with Lu Pinde, Executive Director and General Manager of Huafa Sports, announced at the Hengqin International Tennis Center that the 2017 Australian Open Asia Pacific Wild Card Tournament will be held in Zhuhai, hosted by the Australian Tennis Association, the competition is hosted by Huafa Group, the organizer of the 2016 Zhuhai WTA Super Classic, and executed by Huafa Sports Operation Management Co., Ltd. The competition has also received strong support and guidance from the Hengqin New Area Management Committee and the Zhuhai Municipal Bureau of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Players can book a place for themselves at the 2017 Australian Open through the Australian Open Asia-Pacific Wild Card Tournament. The winner of the singles and doubles match of the Asia-Pacific Wild Card will receive a wild card to the Australian Open.

Because it is in the same eastern hemisphere, the game time of the Australian Open is basically synchronized with Beijing time, so compared with the other three Grand Slams, the Australian Open is the most well-known Grand Slam tournament by Chinese audiences. Therefore, the Australian Open also pays special attention to the development of the Chinese market. Create the slogan of "Grand Slam events in the Asia-Pacific region" to let more people in East Asia know and love this event.