Video | Moments of 2018 Pingshan Open 坪山网球公开赛精彩瞬间回顾
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Video by Liu Xudong
Pingshan District is one of the main areas in Shenzhen with a large population of Hakka people. With such an old civilization and rich natural resources, cultural and sporting events are growing prosperously in the district. The 2018 Pingshan Open was held from March 12 to 18 at the Pingshan Tennis Center.
The Pingshan Open is the only combined male and female international competition in Shenzhen. The winning award is US$135,000, among which, the ATP Challenge awards US$75,000 and the ITF Women Tour awards US$60,000.
A total of 123 players from 50 countries competed at this year's Pingshan Open. With 148 games held during the seven-day tennis event, citizens enjoyed exciting games close to home in Pingshan.
The famous Chinese tennis player, Zhang Ze, a wildcard entry, was beaten 4-6 and 2-6 by Belorussian Ilya Ivashka, who is now ranked 122nd in the world after pocketing the men’s singles title. Taiwanese Xie Zhengpeng and Australian Rameez Junaid won the doubles titles.
Russian Anna Kalinskaya and Slovakian Viktoria Kuzmova won the doubles titles. These two fantastic partners met for the first time in the singles final yesterday. Kuzmova knocked out Kalinskaya with a 7-5, 6-3 win. This trophy is the most important championship she has won so far in her career.
In order to enrich the tennis players’ stay in Shenzhen and to help them better understand Shenzhen, the Pingshan Open Organizing Committee held various player activities.
Romanian Alexandra Cadantu wore a chef uniform and experienced the process of Chinese-style roasting duck with the hands-on guidance of a professional Chinese chef. By first massaging the duck then marinating, roasting, and slicing it before rolling it into a pancake, Kadantin went step-by-step through the entire process and enjoyed it a lot.
Chinese You Xiaodi and Indonesian Beatrice Gumulya visited Dawan Ancestral Residence in Pingshan on the afternoon of March 14. Dawan Ancestral Residence is a castle-style Hakka circular house that was built in the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty (1736-1795). It was here that the Zeng family lived and worked, and to this day it preserves many precious Hakka folk relics and cultural history. Gumulya was particularly excited to visit the Dawan Ancestral Residence and observe Hakka culture for the first time.
With the help of the guides, they were able to grasp a deeper understanding of Hakka culture and were amazed by the unique architectural structure of Hakka houses. Then, they learned to write Chinese calligraphy under the direction of a teacher.
They in turn taught the calligraphy teacher how to play tennis. Gumulya was surprised that the calligraphy teachers were able to master perfect tennis form in such a short time, a rare achievement among beginners.
There was a carnival held before the final singles matches. Various games such as tennis court, a tennis photo wall, and tennis puzzles gave visitors a multi-faceted way to experience the joys of tennis.
Editor/ Lily