Wuhan's next-gen thinking puts youngsters center court
The Wuhan Open's commitment to youth development is not just restricted to giving young Chinese pros the chance to test themselves against the world's elite.
An even younger generation of tennis enthusiasts are also gaining invaluable experience at the WTA Premier 5 tournament, which on Saturday was won by rising Belarusian star Aryna Sabalenka for the second straight year.
This year, a program entitled WTA Future Star allowed 12 lucky youngsters from Hubei province to enjoy practice sessions in the state-of-the-art main stadium at Optics Valley International Tennis Center. The kids, aged 9-14, also got to interact with some the stars of the event, including Chinese ace Duan Yingying and coach Liu Shuo, who is behind the success of world No 38 Zhang Shuai.
