MELBOURNE, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Australian Open embraces its Chinese audience and aims to make them feel like it is their own Grand Slam, tournament organizers said.
"For a long time, the Chinese audience has been embraced by the Australian Open," Roddy Campbell, director of partnerships and international business at Tennis Australia, told Xinhua in a recent interview.
Tennis Australia, the governing body for tennis in Australia, organizes national and international tournaments, including the Australian Open.
"Melbourne is not far from China, and the Australian Open is the Grand Slam of the Asia-Pacific region," Campbell said. "We want our Chinese audience to feel like it is their Grand Slam."
The Chinese market is a significant focus for the tournament, with nearly 40% of its overall broadcast and social media audiences coming from the country, Campbell said.
Tennis Australia plans to continue cultivating the Chinese market and providing opportunities for top tennis players from China and the Asia-Pacific region to compete in the tournament, he added.
As the 2025 Australian Open takes place at Melbourne Park from Jan. 12 to 26, a massive poster of Chinese tennis star Zheng Qinwen is prominently displayed near the entrance passageway.
Among the bustling spectators, many Chinese fans have traveled from China to watch the matches.
"It's closer than any other Grand Slam. So if they're going to choose one event to travel to, it is the closest," Campbell said, acknowledging that it's still a long trip for Chinese fans.
"We want to make sure we tell the story that if you can't make it to Melbourne, Chinese fans can still enjoy it," he said.
Last year, Tennis Australia held an amateur tennis tournament with one of its partners in 24 cities across China, Campbell said. The 2025 Australian Open Asia-Pacific Wildcard Play-off was held in Chengdu, China, in November 2024.
Tennis Australia also organized a large-scale launch event in China in October 2024, Campbell said. "It was the first time we'd ever done an event of that scale to launch the AO."
Over the years, Tennis Australia has explored the Chinese market while strengthening existing partnerships and seeking new collaboration opportunities, Campbell said.
The Australian Open has a dedicated team that produces content for popular Chinese social media platforms and has amassed 5 million followers.
"We've had double-digit growth every year for seven years in terms of our social audience," Campbell said. "So we continue to invest in content specifically for the Chinese audience."
"It's a bit of a flywheel-the stronger the [Chinese] players, the bigger the [Chinese] interest in our tournament," he said.
In 2024, Campbell visited several Chinese cities and was impressed by the country's infrastructure, including its tennis facilities.
His visits also reinforced the growing popularity of tennis in China. "We're super excited about the future potential in China," Campbell said.
Tennis Australia is exploring cooperative projects to improve the overall level of Chinese tennis, he added.
"It's in our interest to see a healthy tennis business in China," Campbell said. Enditme■