Rendez-vous à Roland-Garros in China: a festival on clay

Roland Garros recently organised a fortnight of events in China. We take a look back at these three events.

Roland Garros recently organised a fortnight of events in China, which included the Roland-Garros Amateur Series, the Junior Wild Card Series and the eSeries by BNP Paribas. We take a look back at these three events.

The Roland-Garros Amateur Series was held on 6th and 7th April in Anning, in China’s Yunnan province. Following on from the five preliminary stages held across China (Baotou, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Nanchang, Dongguan and Anning), the best players were invited to play in the final at Anning Spring Tennis Club, which earned the Roland Garros certification last year.

At the end of the three days of competition, the four winning players from each category were awarded a ticket to Roland Garros.

In the boys’ under 14 group, Xiang Qi, from Guangzhou, came out on top by defeating all his opponents, including 2018 champion Jie Taojun. “It’s the best court I’ve ever played on!” Qi said.

Cai Yunfei triumphed in the girls’ under 14 group, and won the opportunity to experience the Parisian Grand Slam in May. “I really enjoyed playing on the clay,” said the young champion from Guangzhou.

In the younger category (under 10s), Zhang Yiran (boys) and Zhang Chenming (girls) triumphed over their opponents.

Roland-Garros Junior Wild Card Series: Li Zixuan and Tian Fangran overcame their tiredness!

This is the sixth year that the Roland-Garros Junior Wild Card Series has been held in China. Thirty-two young Chinese players took part in this top-level junior tournament on 8th to 10th April in Anning.

After three days of matches, Li Zixuan and Cao Yitao overcame their physical tiredness to play each other over three sets in the boys’ final. After losing the first set (3-6), Li Zixuan took the lead in the second (6-2) before clinching the third set on a tie-break.

The girls’ final also went to three sets, and ended in victory for Tian Fangran (6-3 2-6 6-4). Fangran goes to school every weekday morning and trains every afternoon. “I find training really hard,” she explained. “But, after winning the Chinese stage of the Roland-Garros Junior Wild Card Series, I’m glad to say that all my hard work has paid off!”

After four days of competition, Li Zixuan and Tian Fangran each won a place in the international final at Roland Garros, during which they will play their Brazilian and Indian counterparts. The two international winners will be awarded a wildcard for the main draw of the Roland Garros Junior tournament.

Roland-Garros eSeries by BNP Paribas: an e-sport pro in Paris!


Finally, Cai Sicong earned his ticket to Roland Garros in the virtual world, by winning the national final of the Roland-Garros eSeries by BNP Paribas in Shanghai. This e-sport pro is a huge fan of tennis, especially of Chinese player Wu Di.

Now that they have won their respective tournaments, these champions will all travel to Roland Garros, where they will be able to take a look behind the scenes at the tournament and enjoy a tour of Philippe-Chatrier court, where legendary Chinese tennis champion Li Na won the first Grand Slam of her career.

We’ll see you in Paris ! Rendez-vous à Roland-Garros!