Asia is the new hotbed of tennis.
MORE than ever, the global ball of tennis is bouncing toward Asia. In January, the ATP announced it was moving events to Beijing and Bangkok. That follows the successful staging of the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai last November, the first time it had been held in Asia. The eight-man event was beamed into 40 million Chinese homes alone. At this year's Australian Open, organisers rolled out a new slogan, the "Grand Slam of Asia/Pacific." And during the event, tournament officials announced Australia's biggest sports-marketing sponsorship deal ever, worth $10 million, with South Korea's Kia Motors.
"The ATP is focused on Asia as an area of growth potential for professional tennis, and for tennis in general," says Brad Drewett, head of ATP activities for the Asia/Pacific region. Indeed, with more than three billion inhabitants, a rapidly growing middle class, greater access to global sports information via the Internet, and improving pro players, Asia is primed to explode.
In the 1970s, Vijay Amritraj of India boosted the game's popularity in the East. The `80s were a different story: without any Asian stars, tournaments faltered. Michael Chang helped reverse the trend in the `90s in cities like Tokyo and Hong Kong, and now rising homegrown talents like Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand and Hyung-Taik Lee of Korea are doing the same in their countries.
In addition to the likes of Kia, major management firms like IMG are gearing up for Asia to take off. In 2003, the ITF will spend about $500,000, or about 16 per cent of its $3.2-million annual development budget, in Asia — more than any region save Africa — to train coaches, assist tournaments, and support top players.
Doug Robson
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