Injuries rule home stars Li and Zheng out of China Open

The country's top women's players Li Na and Zheng Jie will not play in the China Open next month, the China Tennis Association (CTA) said yesterday.

World No 21 Li and Zheng, a two-time Grand Slam-winning doubles player, have been sidelined since late June with injuries which continue to plague them.

"It is very bad news," CTA vice-president Gao Shenyang said.

"Their rehabilitation is slower than we expected, I am not sure when they come back."

The 25-year-old Li, who suffered a recurrence of a muscle injury around her ribs, was scheduled to return before the US Open but now has to wait a couple of weeks, Gao said.

Despite the absence of local stars, China Open organizers say they aren't worried about the tickets sales scheduled to begin this weekend.

Marcos Baghdatis and Svetlana Kuznetsova have confirmed they will defend their China Open titles at the Beijing Tennis Center next month while Martina Hingis, Justine Henin, Fernando Gonzalez and Ivan Ljubicic are also penciled in on the players list.

Joining them will be Elena Dementieva, Amelie Mauresmo, Mario Ancic, Nikolay Davydenko and Tommy Robredo.

"I am confident of organizing a successful tournament this year," tournament managing director Zhang Junhui said.

"The clear objectives of the China Open are to develop it into a top tennis tournament and to ensure it is a great asset to our preparations for the 2008 Olympic Games."

As the biggest tennis extravaganza ever held in Beijing, the China Open has inspired tennis mania across the city since its debut in 2004 when Russian Marat Safin and Serena Williams clinched the titles.

"Their participation proves the status of China Open," Zhang said. "I'm very pleased with the event over the past years. The organizing work steps to a higher level as we are more experienced than last year. I think we've done a very good job."

Organizers have released a wide range of ticket prices for fans.

The tickets are divided into five categories ranging from 25 yuan (US$3) to 1,200 yuan (US$148), cheaper overall than last year.

Also, the organizing committee has vowed not to issue any complimentary tickets in order to leave the court open to real fans.

"The people receiving complimentary tickets might not be interested in tennis, so we have cancelled all the complimentary tickets this year," Zhang said.

Organized by the State Administration of Sports and the Beijing Municipal government, the tournament has attracted sponsorships from Canon, Kappa and Mercedes-Benz.

The event also teamed up with China Central Television (CCTV) and Sina.com. About 300 media from home and abroad have confirmed their attendance.

(China Daily 09/06/2007 page22)