Sky is the limit as ATP takes next step in China by launching Challenger events

BEIJING - The sky's the limit for the growth of tennis in China over the next decade as the focus shifts towards the development of Chinese players, the ATP's international group chief executive, Brad Drewett, said on Tuesday.

While the eyes of the tennis world were firmly fixed on Roland Garros, Drewett was 8,000 kilometers away at a suburban Beijing sports center getting ready to take center stage at the launch of China's first Challenger Tour event.

The former Australian Open junior champion has watched the growth of the sport in China at the professional level over the past decade to the point at which it now boasts two top tournaments in the Shanghai Masters and Beijing's China Open.