New office rides wave of popularity

As China prepares to host one of the world's top women's tennis events next year, the WTA is trying to ride the wave of the sport's popularity here by opening its Asia-Pacific headquarters.

The office opened yesterday in Beijing and is spearheaded by the WTA Tour's chief operating officer David Shoemaker. It is professional women's tennis' third global office after its main headquarters in St Petersburg, Florida, and its European office in London.

"Our top goal is to help the China Open and Chinese tennis fully fulfill its potential, that's the motivation for us to establish the office here in Beijing," Shoemaker told China Daily.