China's great tennis venues and facilities, coupled with the frequent holding of high-level tennis tournaments in the country, will undoubtedly contribute to the success of Chinese players, said Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic.
The 37-year-old tennis player claimed gold in the men's singles tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in France this year, bringing his fifth Olympic journey to a perfect end.
So far, Djokovic has won 99 singles titles, including the four Grand Slam tournaments -- the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open, as well as the Olympic Games. With the accomplishment, Djokovic completed a career Golden Slam.
Djokovic believes that he is still playing at a high level and will be more selective in events.
For him, the 2024 Rolex Shanghai Masters is a long-expected competition.
"And I always enjoy playing in China and enjoy coming here. [I] won my first masters cup here in 2008 and since then I won another four titles of the Rolex Masters 1000 event here in Shanghai. So I'm gonna give my best, obviously this year, to try to go as far as possible in the tournament and fight for the trophy," said Djokovic.
When it comes to the growth and progress of Chinese tennis players such as Zheng Qinwen and Zhang Zhizhen, Djokovic noted that Chinese players are willing to put in a lot of efforts and he hopes to see more outstanding Chinese players in the future.
"Tennis players they're very focused, they want to train, they put a lot of effort. I wish to see definitely more Chinese players, particularly on the men's side, doing better and better. Their future will be bright," he said.
In 2023, the number of tennis courts in China ranked second in the world, according to iiMedia Research, a third-party data mining and analysis agency for the global new economic industry.
It is estimated that the scale of China's tennis industry will grow to 36.9 billion yuan (about 5.23 billion U.S. dollars) in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 15 percent, and the number of people playing tennis in China will reach 23.81 million, making up 25.3 percent of the total in the world, ranking first globally.
"In some of the most beautiful stadiums that we have in tennis are here in China. For several months, every single week, high level tournaments [are] played all over the country. So that will definitely contribute to the success of the Chinese players," said the tennis player.
Perfect infrastructure and the hot atmosphere for events will create infinite possibilities to China's tennis industry, according to Djokovic.
China's tennis facilities, high-level tournaments to drive success of Chinese players: Djokovic
More users of new energy vehicles (NEVs) are hitting the road during this year’s National Day holiday, as an expanded public charging network in China is significantly alleviating range anxiety for drivers.
Since Tuesday, the first day of the week-long holiday, expressways in east China's Jiangsu Province have seen daily traffic exceed 150,000 vehicles, with nearly 10 percent being NEVs. In Taizhou City, a service area reported all 12 charging piles occupied around 14:00 on Wednesday.
"The number of charging piles has doubled, and they are all fast chargers. What's even more reassuring is that the staff are always here to serve us, which really eases my range anxiety," said Meng Haoyang, a NEV driver.
Similar scenes were observed in Anhui Province, where electric vehicles are arriving for charging every ten minutes at a service area equipped with 16 functioning charging piles available around-the-clock.
"It is quite convenient to charge our vehicles here since there are staff providing full service, which reduces our waiting time," said Jiang Hao, another NEV driver.
A famous tourist attraction, the Shimen Village in Wuyuan County, Jiangxi Province has drawn an increasing number of visitors going on holiday via electric vehicles, thanks to the construction of a new EV charging station.
"It is very convenient. The car is parked outside being charged while we're enjoying our tour around the village. Things can be done simultaneously without delay," said a tourist Wan Qian.
Data from the State Grid's smart vehicle networking platform showed EV charging volume at expressway stations reached a record 15.58 million kilowatt-hours during the first two days of the holiday, up 56 percent from the same period last year.
Local authorities are actively fostering a user-friendly environment to accommodate the surge in EV traffic.
In Pinghu City, Zhejiang Province, three mobile charging stations have been added to a service area on the busy Shenyang-Haikou Expressway to resolve drivers' range anxiety and offer more flexible charging options.
"We have prepared mobile charging piles in service areas with large traffic and charging demand for the holiday, guiding drivers to charge in an orderly and fast manner," said Zhu Zhenyuan, a staff member from the State Grid Pinghu Power Supply Company.
The coverage of charging stations has been further expanded across the country.
In Hanzhong, Shaanxi Province, charging facilities are available in all service areas and tourist attractions.
In Xiaogan, Hubei Province, 600 villages and rural scenic spots have been equipped with charging stations during this holiday, greatly facilitating tourist trips and family visits for EVs owners.
Expanded charging network boosts NEV use during National Day holiday
