China’s return to the highest echelons of women’s tennis is complete after the country was awarded hosting rights to the finals of the Billie Jean King Cup, the national teams’ tournament.
A three-year agreement was announced today (Thursday) between the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the China Tennis Association (CTA), with the finals to be staged in Shenzhen between 2025 and 2027.
It marks the first time that the finals will be held in China.
The CTA has teamed up with a private investor, Beijing Guoti Intelligent Technology, to help deliver the three finals. Beijing Guoti has been involved in developing the sport of table tennis in China for many years, at both grassroots and professional level.
China’s hosting deal for women’s tennis’ most prestigious team tournament comes a little over three years since the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) suspended its tournaments in China, citing concerns about the welfare of Peng Shuai. The WTA Tour player had been at the centre of a global scandal after an allegation of sexual assault against a former senior Chinese politician was published on her Weibo account.
In a December 2021 statement, then WTA chief executive Steve Simon said the organisation had “serious doubts that she [Peng] is free, safe, and not subject to censorship, coercion, and intimidation”. The move followed through on an earlier statement by Simon that the WTA could walk away from its business in China over the matter.
The diplomatic incident coincided with the Covid-19 pandemic when strict lockdown restrictions impacted China’s ability to host major sporting events.
Indeed Shenzhen, back in January 2018, signed a 10-year hosting deal to stage the end-of-season WTA Finals until 2028. Covid-19 disrupted the contract with the 2020 Finals cancelled entirely and the 2021 event moved to Guadalajara, Mexico, before the breakdown in relations between the WTA and China over Peng.
The WTA Finals are now contracted to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
It was not until April 2023 that the WTA decided to return to staging events in China, ending its boycott. Seven tournaments were held between September and December of that year, including the China Open, the top-tier WTA 1000 event, in Beijing.
The WTA Tour only returned to screens in China in March last year after streaming service Youku acquired the rights in a three-year deal. The WTA had a lucrative 10-year media rights agreement with streaming platform iQiyi Sports, from 2017 to 2026, worth between $160m (€147m) and $170m in total, but that agreement was also terminated.
Due to renovation issues at the proposed venue in Sevilla, the 2024 BJK Cup Finals were relocated to Málaga, uniting the event with the conclusion of the men’s Davis Cup. Staging the finales of both tournaments in one city had long been talked about as a potential strategy for the events, but that appears unlikely for the foreseeable future.
Towards the end of last year, Italy was awarded rights to host the Davis Cup Final 8 from 2025 to 2027. The 2025 edition will be staged in Bologna, with the hosts of the 2026 and 2027 events to be confirmed at a later date.
The decision of the ITF and BJK Cup Limited, the event’s commercial entity, to take the Finals to China was no doubt taken due to the resurgence in tennis in China, fuelled by the success of Paris 2024 Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen (pictured), the world number five.
Record attendances, strong ticket sales, increased sponsorship revenue and a surge in merchandise sales at the 2024 China Open and ATP 1000 Shanghai Masters indicate growing fan engagement across the board.
The BJK Cup Finals have traditionally taken place in November, but the 2025 date has yet to be announced with the ITF confirming it is in talks with all stakeholders to find an optimum date in the calendar. The event in Shenzhen could well be brought forward to September or October, when a run of tournaments take place in Asia.
David Haggerty, ITF president, said: “China has seen a massive surge in tennis popularity, with over 20 million people playing the sport, making it the second-largest tennis-playing nation globally. The country’s investment in tennis infrastructure and talent development has led to significant achievements on the international stage, including Olympic triumphs and a growing presence in global rankings.”
Last November, SportBusiness reported that T/Squared, the agency set up by the Team Marketing group to house its new business, is brokering and advising on global media rights sales to the Davis Cup and BJK Cup as part of a four-year deal. The first deal struck by T/Squared was announced as an exclusive agreement with Italy’s SuperTennis for both events. The deal in Italy – like T/Squared’s remit – runs from 2025 to 2028.