Open System, Open Win: What Li Na means to Chinese sports
Sunday, 5th June 2011 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
The title should be a boon for tennis in China, where it was already relatively popular and accessible. And it makes Li the most compelling currently active sportsperson in the country, especially after hurdler Liu Xiang came in second at the Prefontaine Classic and announced he won't compete in Europe before world championships late this summer. But the most important legacy of her win might be captured by the message printed on the 30 special-edition T-shirts Nike made for her camp to wear during the tournament: "Zaojiu zji," roughly translated as, "Create yourself." Li -- along with Zheng Jie, Yan Zi and Peng Shuai -- is part of an experiment in self-determination unprecedented in the Chinese sports world.
Less than three years ago, the Chinese Tennis Association announced its "Fly Alone" program, giving the players the option to leave the national team to train on their own, set their schedules, choose their coaches, control their commercial activities and keep 88% of their winnings, instead of turning over 65% to the federation. Li had two strong seasons and then made a run to the final of the Australian Open this year. She lost to Kim Clijsters, but took advantage of her stock to sign major new endorsements — Li represents Nike, Haagen-Dazs, Rolex and SpiderTech.
Li's victory at Roland Garros after just two seasons on her own validates the association's decision to extend these women so much independence. Some tennis writers have attributed her win in part to the fact that she changed coaches between the Australian Open and the French Open, demoting her husband and hiring Denmark's Michael Mortenson — not something she could have done three years ago.
In a post-match press conference, the Chinese Tennis Association chief deemed the reforms a success: "We took a lot of risks with this reform. When we let them fly, we didn't know if they would succeed. That they have now succeeded, means our reform was correct," said Sun Jinfang. "This reform will serve as a good example for reforms in other sports."
China's bureaucrats have demonstrated a fondness for the guinea pig approach to change. The country's transition to a market economy began with reforms isolated to cities designated as "special economic zones," before spreading to the rest of the country.
If similar changes are to come in other sports, it probably won't be until after the 2012 Olympics in London—sports administration leaders are unlikely to veer from the cautious course before then. And the CTA's reforms can't be simply copied by the sports China seems most concerned about— team sports, whose competition format and business model differ greatly from tennis. But China's much-maligned national men's football team, and the mediocre play in its national basketball league, might benefit from policies that encourage athletes to get playing experience outside of the country.
In the post-match ceremony, Li thanked her sponsors, tournament directors, ball boys, linesmen, chair umpires, her training team, fans and a friend—notably making no mention of her country or the Chinese Tennis Association. But why should she have to thank them? She wore red and yellow on the dais and sang along as the Chinese national anthem was played and the flag was raised. Do people expect Roger Federer to thank Switzerland whenever he wins a major? Or the Williams sisters to thank America?
Li Na is the vanguard of a new breed of Chinese athlete. She is creating herself, following her own path and hoping to squeeze as many wins as she can out of her career, but she is also creating a legacy will last long past her retirement, and extend beyond her own sport.
Li Na image: Xinhua
Tags: French Open, Li Na, tennis
Li Na fills a void at top of Chinese sports world
Friday, 28th January 2011 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Li and coach/husband Jiang Shan. After her semifinal win, she complained that his snoring had kept her up the night before and said he'd be banished to their hotel room's bathtub.
Li has already made history; her comeback win over world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in Melbourne Thursday made her the first Chinese tennis player to reach a Grand Slam final. Interviewed post-match, Li said her motivation in the final set was "prize money," and local news stories have focused heavily on the purse—$2.2 million AUD ($2.175 USD, or more than 14 million RMB) if she wins, and half that if she loses.
Although China's 51-gold medal performance at the 2008 Beijing Olympics showed that it has its share of world-class athletes, few of these athletes have the chance to compete for millions. Yao Ming is among the NBA's 10 best-paid players, but Liu Xiang can only compete for a few dozen thousand dollars at the IAAF World Championships.
But there's a lot more than $2 million USD at stake here. If Li Na can win Saturday, and follow that up with a strong season, she should be able to rack up the endorsements from now through the 2012 Olympics in London.
Li's big moment coincides with a void at the top of the Chinese sports world, a lack of active elites. Yao Ming played limited minutes in five games, before injuring himself yet again and announcing he would sit out the 2010-11 season (though that didn't stop Chinese fans from voting him into the starting lineup at the All-Star game). Yi Jianlian is averaging about 6 points and 3 rebounds for the Washington Wizards, who have not won a road game all season. Liu Xiang was back in form en route to his Asian Games gold in November, but has yet to prove he has recovered his ability to beat the world's best. And although diver Guo Jingjing will stay in the limelight, a retired athlete makes a much less compelling pitchwoman.
IMG has handled Li's commercial activities since 2009, about a year after she struck out on her own when China's tennis federation extended to top players the freedom to set their own training schedules, handle their own business deals, and keep more of their winnings. Li has been an outspoken advocate of expanding this policy to other sports, saying last year, "It is very important for us to have the right to choose. I really mean it."
Related: All-China Australian Open final? Making history and a case for reform
Li Na to kick out snoring husband in bid to break China's duck
Li Na and husband/coach image: PClady.com
Tags: IMG, Li Na, sports marketing, tennis
Li Na's appearance in Australian Open semis inspires lazy, offensive writing
Wednesday, 26th January 2011 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (1)
It's not the first time that a Chinese player has made it into a Grand Slam semi – that honor goes to Zheng Jie, who reached the Wimbledon semifinal in 2008, and then along with Li became the first two Chinese players to reach the semis in the same Grand Slam, at last year's Australian Open. But this tournament's final four offers the best shot yet for a Chinese player to reach the final, with weaker competition than they have faced in the past. Li's next opponent, Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki, is currently the World No. 1, but has never won a Grand Slam. In fact, of the remaining players, only Kim Clijsters has. She holds three US Open titles, from 2005, 2009 and 2010.
By contrast, last year in Melbourne Zheng lost to Justine Henin, winner of seven Grand Slams. Serena Williams defeated Li and went on to win her 26th Grand Slam title. Li and Wozniacki play in the afternoon on Thursday, January 27.
Finally, while we're on the subject of Li Na, I'd like to take a second to editorialize on what I find to be a horribly insensitive and borderline racist approach to this story by a British newspaper. The Guardian's man in Melbourne, Kevin Mitchell teases us with the headline "Li Na hopes to make great leap forward against Caroline Wozniacki."
The Great Leap Forward was the euphemistic propaganda name given to a Mao Zedong campaign that caused the death of millions of Chinese people – many due to starvation. Hardly something to bring up as we should be celebrating the great strides made by China's female tennis players, strides often attributed to the Chinese tennis administration's willingness to experiment with giving its athletes more freedom than is enjoyed by their peers in other sports.
After that, Mitchell brings us this lede:
"Li Na is not half a police siren but it might well be the skinniest collection of letters of any major figure in the history of sport. The 28-year-old player from Hubei province in the middle of China is two matches from expanding her profile beyond her fondest dreams in the final of the Australian Open."
Seriously? This athlete starts off the 2011 season with a Grand Slam semifinal appearance, and you start off an article about her by making fun of her name for… being short and sounding foreign? If Li Na makes it to the next stage, hopefully Mitchell will dispense with the crude jokes, and resist the urge to call this "Tennis's Cultural Revolution."
Li Na image: Xinmin.com.cn
Tags: Li Na, tennis
Around the Web: A basketball MVP, a tennis upset, and an unpopular proposal for soccer
Saturday, 20th March 2010 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Mengke Bateer who, unbeknownst to many a casual fan, was the first Chinese player to win an NBA championship, was selected as this season's MVP for the Chinese Basketball Association. The big guy averaged 13.8 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4 assists and 1.2 blocks per game. It looks to me like this is a chance to honor one of China's most historically important players who will probably retire soon (Bateer is 35) than it does like a recognition of a stellar 2009-10 season. Bateer's Xinjiang Guanghui are in second place in league standings, with league playoffs starting next Wednesday. All-Star Weekend is March 20-21 at Wukesong Arena in Beijing.China's Zheng Jie (seeded 18th) beat Maria Sharapova (seeded 10th) at the BNP Paribas Open, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3. Sharapova was battling injuries in the match at Indian Wells.
Wei Di, the new chief of the Chinese Football Association, has introduced the apparently unpopular idea of entering China's under-21 national team as the 17th side in the Chinese Soccer League, to give those young players more time playing together. He hopes the plan will help him reach his self-imposed goal of qualifying a team for the FIFA World Cup in 2014, without dismantling the centrally planned football development system. The CSL begins play next week.
Gold medal-winning speed skater Zhou Yang angered some sports officials when she thanked her real mother and not Mother China (Reuters). David Yang at China Sports Review argues that the state has a point.
Tags: basketball, CBA, football, Mengke Bateer, soccer, tennis, Wei Di, Zheng Jie
An all-China Australian Open final? Making history and a case for reform
Thursday, 28th January 2010 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (1)
Li Na
Li Na and Zheng Jie were two players who took up the Chinese Tennis Association on an offer in 2008 (after the Olympics) to take greater control of their training and keep more of their prize money. The tradeoff was giving up some of the support and security offered by the CTA. Less than two years after this experiment began, Li Na and Zheng Jie are opening the 2010 tennis season by becoming the first pair of Chinese players to make it to the singles final at a Grand Slam (they were also the first pair to the quarterfinals). Li Na took down Venus Williams in her quarterfinal, and Zheng beat Maria Kirilenko.
These two didn't come out of nowhere, and it's not the first major success for China's female tennis stars. Zheng and her partner Zi Yan won the doubles final at the Australian Open in 2006, and Zheng reached the semifinals of Wimbledon in 2008. But coming just one season after both players took control of their own careers, it supports Li's argument last year that such freedom should be extended to other sports. "It is very important for us to have the right to choose. I really mean it," she said last spring, according to an AFP report.
Li Na's semi against Serena Williams is live right now, and Zheng Jie's semi against Justine Henin will take place Friday morning. And in keeping the footwear theme in this week's posts, it should be noted that Zheng Jie is wearing Chinese brand Anta shoes and gear. Li Na is still with Nike.
Related: Zhang Shuai and the future of Chinese tennis
Li Na image: Xunying.com
Tags: Anta, Australian Open, Li Na, Nike, state sports system, tennis, Zheng Jie
Zhang Shuai and the future of Chinese tennis
Wednesday, 18th November 2009 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Zhang Shuai (left) and Sun Shengnan celebrate their doubles championship
In its fourth year, and its second with Mercedes-Benz as title sponsor, this event is truly the training ground for the future stars of Chinese tennis—three, five, 10 years down the line. The program, put on by Beijing-based BIG International Group and the brainchild of its president, Tom McCarthy, integrates juniors programs, university programs and the Chinese national team's pros. BIG puts on competitions and clinics around China throughout the year, and for one week brings together three events under one roof: Swing for the Stars, the University Tennis Challenge and the professional tournament, the China Tennis Grand Prix Mercedes-Benz Cup.
Chilly temperatures in the unheated Nanjing Olympic Tennis Center aside, it's a well-produced event with some very good tennis on display from a country that's quietly emerging as an international force in the sport (on the women's side, that is).
For the Grand Prix, China's top women stepped out of the way, leaving the limelight and prize money for the second tier of players. Of China's tennis elite--Peng Shuai, Zheng Jie, Li Na and Yan Zi—only Zheng Jie competed in Nanjing, and she took an early exit from the doubles tournament.
After the tournament, I sat down with women's doubles champ Zhang Shuai,张帅 (her partner was Sun Shengnan), who earlier this year became the lowest ranked player (226) to beat a world No. 1 in a WTA main tour event, downing Dinara Safina at the China Open 7-5, 7-6. She then leapfrogged up to number 160 in the world. Zhang is 20 years old, and comes from Tianjin.
CST: You have had a good fall, with the win over Safina and now this doubles championship. What are your goals for next year?
I'd like to reach the top 50 in the world, but that's going to be pretty hard. I'll need to put in a lot of effort. Currently, I don't think I have the ability to be ranked that high.
CST: What aspects of your game will you try to improve?
Zhang Shuai waits for the serve in the women's doubles championship
What I need to improve most is my serve. It could definitely be faster. And I need to do some training and conditioning so I can play my best while keeping healthy. There's a problem with the strength balance between my right and left legs. I need to improve my technique and also my fitness. My left hamstring always gets sore late in the match.
CST: When did you start playing tennis?
From age 9.
CST: How is the situation for kids playing tennis today different from when you were younger?
The situation for kids playing tennis today is much much better. They have a lot of opportunities to play, they can watch us play at these events and they can watch international tournaments on TV. Kids playing tennis today also come from more wealthy families so their overall condition is better when they start. Plus they have more support from companies like Mercedes-Benz that are helping the growth of tennis in China.
They can go to international clinics and international tennis academies. They have less pressure than we did. The pressure is smaller than before because when I was younger, only the best could reach the provincial team, then only the best of the best could join the national team, then just a few could get the opportunity to play in international tournaments. Today the young kids can attend more tournaments, and enjoy the sport more.
They can go to international clinics and international tennis academies. They have less pressure than we did. The pressure is smaller than before because when I was younger, only the best could reach the provincial team, then only the best of the best could join the national team, then just a few could get the opportunity to play in international tournaments. Today the young kids can attend more tournaments, and enjoy the sport more.
As for her own future, Zhang said her first priority is to get some much-needed rest. Chinese players trying to break into the world's elite face the challenge of playing double seasons—the one everyone else plays, plus the China/Asia circuit, and competitions like the China National Games and Asian Games, which last into November. Taking stock of a successful fall, Zhang expressed appreciation for people who have helped her: "I'm very grateful for being granted the wild card to play in the China Open," she said. "Without the China Open, I don't think I would be playing as well as I am playing now. And I've had a lot of support from my family, my coach, other players and the national team."
Chinese tennis: Experimenting with development
When speculating about what sports have a bright future in China, tennis should definitely make the list. The success of China's female players over the past few years has helped draw attention to the sport, and some marginally important international tournaments take place here (China Open, Shanghai Masters). More than a few cities have facilities that, while not fit for holding major international events, certainly suffice for big domestic or regional competitions. In my travels in second- and third-tier cities, I've found public courts fairly common. And the typical hourly court fee of 15 to 30 yuan makes the barrier to entry a lot lower than it is for that other country club sport. Add to this the fact that tennis is a sport that doesn't require the raising of a team that can execute both creatively and cooperatively—something that's proven difficult for basketball and soccer teams here to do--and the fact that, as a racket sport, it is something that lots of Chinese can imagine themselves playing. And while it's easy to forget this, tennis is in the Olympics, which means it gets support at the national and provincial levels.
Like most sports in China, tennis has been both bolstered and hampered by a state sports system that puts a lot of resources into identifying and developing talent. Pointing toward a bright future for tennis in China is the fact that the sport's powers that be have been willing to experiment. Last year, the Chinese Tennis Association gave players the option of determining their own training schedules and keeping more of their winnings, in return for giving up some of the security of remaining within the state system. Four players (Peng Shuai, Zheng Jie, Li Na and Yan Zi) have taken advantage of this so far.
Last week's program—and the year-round events that surround it—also represents a departure from the establishment approach to sports in China. The participating youth players don't live in sports school dormitories, and most chose to play tennis (though certainly many were pushed into it by their parents). And while the Chinese Tennis Association featured prominently at the event, its bankrolling sponsors—Mercedes, Anta sportswear and Huatai Securities—were even more visible.
I expect to see similar developments in other sports in China--more freedom for athletes, increased participation, and a closer relationship with sponsors--though it could come more slowly than many would like. Corporate sponsorship is likely to play a big role in any sport's move beyond the strict confines of the state system, and tennis' experience with it will likely have a big impact on how soon and how freely other sports administrations move forward.
Related:
Li Na: overhaul of China's rigid sports model
Zhang knocks off world No. 1 at China Open
China to launch amateur tennis league next month
Mercedes hooking its star to tennis
Tags: Anta, BIG, Mercedes-Benz, Nanjing Olympic Sports Center, tennis, Tom McCarthy, Zhang Shuai
ATP Champions tour to bring tennis greats to Chengdu
Tuesday, 3rd November 2009 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
The tournament will be held November 5-8 at the 6,700-seat Sichuan Tennis Centre.
Former top world tennis players competing in the Chengdu Open include John McEnroe, Björn Borg, Michael Chang, Pat Cash (added after Mats Wilander pulled out due to injury), Goran Ivanisevic, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Sergi Bruguera and Thomas Enqvist.
The round-robin tournament will feature eight players divided into two groups, with the winners of each group meeting in the final.
A revival of the McEnroe-Borg rivalry is undoubtedly the most anticipated match prior to the final – the two have played each other in some of the greatest Grand Slam finals ever. The two will play each other once again on Saturday night.
In addition to the competition, the visiting tennis legends will run clinics with local children, with the goal of encouraging China's youth to take up the sport.
For ticket information (plus online ordering) and a match schedule, visit the tournament's official website.
This story was cross-posted on GoChengdoo, our sister site in Chengdu.
Tags: Björn Borg, Chengdu, Goran Ivanisevic, John McEnroe, Michael Chang, Pat Cash, Sergi Bruguera, tennis, Thomas Enqvist, Yevgeny Kafelnikov
Dusting off Beijing's Olympic venues
Tuesday, 13th October 2009 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
It's rare that venues built for the 2008 Beijing Olympics actually host events—but in the past week, three of these white elephants were actually in use. The China Open tennis tournament came to the Olympic Green Tennis Center from October 2-11; the Bird's Nest played host to a Zhang Yimou production of the Italian opera Turandot on Oct. 6 and 7; and the NBA brought a preseason game to Wukesong Basketball Arena—a facility that the league designed and now operates.Here's a quick look at each of the events:
Wukesong Arena, October 11, 2009
NBA Games at Wukesong Basketball Arena
The Denver Nuggets played the Indiana Pacers in the second NBA preseason game played here. As expected, the NBA put on a good show—Carmelo Anthony poured in 45 points; breakdancers, cheerleaders and mascots kept the crowd in their seats during breaks; and hoops activities (sponsored, of course) and a small NBA retail outlet continued the action in the arena's outer ring.
Wukesong is decades ahead of any arena used by the Chinese Basketball Association—the seats are comfortable, the jumbotron is jumbo, it actually has built in concession stands, and I doubt that "benchwarmer" will be a literal term here in the winter.
A common sight outside Beijing sports venues, scalpers were hard at work.
Its 18,000 seats were nearly all taken Sunday, but the event still seemed to suffer from some of the ticketing woes faced by other sporting events in China. In a country full of NBA fans, and a city of 17.4 million people, there should be no empty seats for the only NBA game that will happen here this year. Face values on tickets being sold on the street right before the game ranged from 600 to 2,800 yuan, but scalpers offered steep discounts. Asking prices (before any haggling) for those two ticket prices were 200 and 1,000 yuan.
I'll save an examination of the problem with getting butts in seats in China for another post, but it's safe to say that any money that the NBA is making in China does not come from ticket sales. But they do entertainment with a flair and on a scale rarely seen in China, and an event like this is primarily for branding and sponsor exposure.
On another note, what was Mike Dunleavy Jr. thinking? Does Beijing have a secret Silk Market for Blind People where he had this suit made?
China Open at Olympic Tennis Center
The China Open came to Beijing for the sixth year in a row (its history reaches back to 1993, and includes events in Shanghai). Being on the post-season Asia circuit keeps it pretty low-profile, but big purses for both the men and the women this year attracted some big names. Novak Djokovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova cruising to the men's and women's titles. Djokovic took home $500,000 for his win, and Kuznetsova $775,500. The event lacked marquee matchups in its late stages, a common problem at the Asian tournaments where the biggest stars tend to lack motivation.
Taking advantage of some of that laziness was Zhang Shuai, who beat world No. 1 Dinara Safina in the second round before losing to Marion Bartoli. Overall, China's women had a strong showing, with the best performance coming from Peng Shuai and Taiwan's Su-Wei Hseih, who took the women's doubles crown.
In singles, Peng Shuai beat Jelena Jankovic and Maria Sharapova to make it to the quarterfinals, where she lost to Nadia Petrova. Li Na went out in the third round to Elena Dementieva, and Zheng Jie lost to eventual champ Kuznetsova in the first round. Full results are available at ChinaOpen.com.
As noted in this earlier post on the event, the matches were pretty poorly attended but the 30-yuan grounds tickets attracted crowds that enjoyed concessions and interactive entertainment provided by the sponsors. The tournament was heavily promoted through ads on CCTV-5 (China's sports channel) and in various sports publications, as well as billboards all over Beijing. Despite this, and the fact that it kicked off on a holiday weekend with great weather, Beijingers stayed away in droves.
Curiously, event organizers seem to think that a brand new stadium will somehow spike attendance. "The existing facilities cannot meet the needs of a commercial event," said China Open senior organizer Zhang Yabin, according to a recent piece in the Washington Post (New court shows ambitions of revamped China Open). The piece quotes another event organizer as saying that sponsorship (from the likes of Mercedes, Kappa and Sony Ericcson) accounted for 70 percent of revenue, whereas 50 or 60 percent would be a healthier target.
Turandot at the Bird's Nest
The most expensive and most celebrated of all of the Olympic venue constructions, the Bird's Nest is also the games' most embarrassingly dormant showpiece. Talk of bringing Chinese Soccer League games there broke down because, well, the league is famously mediocre. "We don't want to put any shame on the Bird's Nest," said Luo Ning, vice president of the company that owns Beijing Guo'an of the CSL, according to this translation in a Reuters story.
Since the closing ceremony of the 2008 Olympics, the Bird's Nest has hosted a Jackie Chan and Friends concert last May (apparently, shame was not an issue anymore), and the Italian Super Cup Final, a soccer match between Inter Milan and Lazio on the one-year anniversary of the 2008 opening ceremony.
The latest event to hit this 91,000-seat stadium was a production of the Italian opera Turandot, directed by Zhang Yimou, who was also responsible for the opening ceremony. Blogging for The Beijinger, Anthony Tao sounded pretty underwhelmed (Turandot Turn-off). Opera, it seems, is not best enjoyed in a stadium with a red Olympic track between the audience and the stage.
Tags: Bird's Nest, China Open, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, NBA, tennis, Wukesong
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