The first official press conference of 2008 China Open tennis tournament took place at the Shangri-La Hotel in Beijing on April 23, 2008. During the press conference, the organizing committee announced the preparations of the fifth China Open tennis tournament, the names of the latest players invited, and the latest event highlights.
According to the organizing committee, 2008 China Open would be the combined event featured men’s and women’s compete simultaneously and in preparation for next year’s upgraded event. After the changes, the schedule will be shortened and the game will be even more exciting.
Regarding the players, the first batch of six world-class tennis players, which includes Ana Ivanovic who is currently ranked second in the world, will take place at the end of September. Missing the chance to take part in the Olympic Games, big names like Andy Roddick are also on the list of 2008 China Open, and the excitement of a potential encounter with the Spaniard David Ferrer has drawn a lot of people’s attention.
As for the visitors’ service, 2008 China Open organizing committee created the program based on the theme of “China Open” in corporation with the China Youth Travel Service. The program aims to help fans who come to see the games from far away, improve the overall service quality, and create a first-class venue to meet the demand for high-quality viewing. Meanwhile, the committee aims at making the price of the tickets economical to satisfy tennis fans.
For the audience, after men’s and women’s events starting at the same time, one ticket will cover more exciting matches and with the same price, people can get more joy. Though the time of some matches will have coincidence, most exciting matches will not be missed. Those who are worried about timing conflict can be assured.
According to the organizing committee, the schedule will be changed a lot, which is for the updating of the next year. Men’s and women’s events starting at the same time is an inevitable trend in the internationally renowned tournament.
Background on the upgrade
China Open will be fully upgraded to a comprehensive Asia's top tennis tournament from 2009. Among them, women’s event of china open will become the "crown jewel” tournament which is top tier in the Tour. The number of participants will be expanded from 32 seeded player to 64 seeds. The prize money will be increased from 585,000 US dollars to not less than 4 million US dollars. Champion’s ranking points will be raised from 195 points to 465 points. And according to the regulations, the Sony Ericsson WTA's top 50 players must participate. If the world's top 10 players pulled out retired from the tournament, they will be subject to severe punishment.
In addition, the men's event in china open will be upgraded from the current’s International Series to ATP 500 series. Beijing will also become one of the 10 held cities of the ATP500 series. Champion’s ranking points can reach 500 points. After the upgrade, price money of men's event will be raised from 500,000 US dollars to more than 2 million US dollars. In accordance with the regulations, the top 20 players must participate in 4 stops in ATP 500 series’ 10 stops, among which one out of Beijing, Tokyo, Basel, or Valencia has to be on the schedule.
Still in the press conference, the organizing committee signed the contract with United States Northwest Airlines, who will be 2008 China Open’s designated aviation services company and supplier.
For the first time, Separate men’s and women’s competitions will overlap each other during the same day, concentrating more excitement
The biggest change this year will be that men’s and women’s events start at the same time. 2008 China Open will be changed a lot for the big updating of next year, whose most prominent thing is the arrangement of event’s schedules. Men’s and women’s events will no long carry out in phases, but simultaneously. Except for the four Grand Slams, only a few super tournament for men and women will be hold over the same period, which will be a very important milestone for raising events brands.
The fifth china open in 2008 is set to hold in Beijing Tennis Centre from September 20 to 28. As men’s and women’s events start at the same time this year, the whole event, a total of 88 matches, will be completed within nine days. The time will be shortened by nearly a week. The schedule is unabated, but the time is shortened. The essence is concentrated and more excitements will show up as a result.
As men’s and women’s events start at the same time this year, the whole event, a total of 88 matches, will be completed within nine days. The time will be shortened by nearly a week. The schedule is unabated, but the time is shortened. The essence is concentrated and more excitements will show up as a result.
