2023 China Tennis Tournament CCB (Asia) Hong Kong Open begins

The opening ceremony of the 2023 China Tennis Tournament CCB (Asia) Hong Kong Open was held at the Victoria Park Tennis Court in China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Sunday.

The tournament runs until November 26, bringing together more than 150 top tennis players from across the country, as the Chinese Tennis Association (CTA) Tour makes its debut at the HKSAR in its highest competitive level, CTA 1000, in four events, namely men's and women's singles and doubles.

This tournament is the first national sporting event hosted by the HKSAR, said organizing committee chair Kenneth Fok Kai-kong at the opening ceremony. Locals will have a chance to watch some 140 Chinese mainland players perform this time, which will boost the popularity of the sport in the HKSAR. Meanwhile, tennis-themed exchanges and games among the youth will be organized in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).

The CTA Tour, launched in 2020, is played at four levels, with CTA 250 and 500 mainly comprising amateur players, and the 800 and 1000 levels organized for professional and elite players.

According to Philip Mok Kwan-yat, president of the Hong Kong, China Tennis Association, the city will host CTA Tour events every year from now. He echoed Fok's remark that hosting such tournament will help popularize the sport in the city. He also said that local players need to play with more prolific players to grow, and that the GBA and the mainland is a good stage for them.

Bai Xilin, deputy director of the Tennis Administrative Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, and Kevin Yeung Yun-hung, secretary for culture, sports and tourism for the HKSAR government, also attended the opening ceremony.