During ESPN’s telecast of the Australian Open women’s final, the commentators kept mentioning how Li Na’s success – she beat Dominika Cibulkova to win her second Grand Slam title – has triggered a tennis boom in China.
Tennis is growing in China, but it still has a long way to go to match the popularity of the country’s top racket sports, pingpong and badminton. They are enjoyed by the masses, while tennis is favored more by the elites.
At Henan University of Technology, the badminton courts and pingpong tables in the school gym are always packed. By contrast, the outdoor tennis courts are sparsely used. There are also two indoor tennis courts, but they are usually reserved for administrators and their guests, including me on several occasions.
The university’s leader, known as the general secretary, is an avid tennis player who has a regular doubles game at the indoor facility. I’ve also seen department heads and other university officials playing there.
But when I ask my students about their favorite sports, badminton, pingpong and basketball always top the list. Among my male students, basketball is far and away the No. 1 choice. With girls, it’s badminton.
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Tennis can only hope that Li Na has the same impact on Chinese tennis that Yao Ming had on Chinese basketball. Basketball is a huge participant sport in China, and it’s also very popular on TV, where you can watch NBA or CBA (Chinese Basketball Association) games almost every night of the week.
Tennis may never be as big as basketball in China, but it certainly has huge potential, especially with the country’s burgeoning middle class. Consider this: Li Na has 22 million social-media followers, quadruple the entire population of Cibulkova’s native Slovakia.
