HK scores an ace with Ultimate Tennis Showdown
Michael Cheng, third left, says the UTS format is a perfect match for Hong Kong. Photo: RTHK
Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) will make its Asian debut in Hong Kong.
The international individual tennis league tournament will be held at Kai Tak Sports Park on October 14 and 15.
Chief operating officer Baptiste Kern said fans had been asking for the tournament to expand to Asia and that Hong Kong has great venues like the new Kai Tak Sports Stadium.
"What we are trying to create with UTS is a form of NBA of tennis, where it's very serious tennis, very high-quality matches [and] very high intensity and at the same time a very fun and fan-friendly atmosphere," he said.
UTS has a slightly different format than most typical tennis matches, with timed matches and players playing quarters rather than sets.
"Basically you have 45 minutes of packed tennis as opposed to longer matches with long breaks," Kern said, adding that fans are encouraged to cheer and players can talk to coaches and fans during changeover.
Eight players, including Chinese tennis star Zhang Zhizhen, will be competing for the Zeus trophy and an estimated price money of more than US$300,000.
Hong Kong, China Tennis Association president Michael Cheng says the UTS format is a perfect match for Hong Kong with its corporate, entertainment, cultural and fashion fusion.
"I think there's a lot of significance in bringing something which is novel to Hong Kong and creating, building and shaping Hong Kong as a tennis hub, a mega-event capital in the region and in Greater Bay."
Cheng says he expects the event to sell out quickly in Hong Kong, emphasising the need to build tennis novelty and brand for Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area.
"It also sends a very clear signal that every financial hub around the world there are tennis events, and so does Hong Kong, and we are able to provide very good events."
Ticket prices will range from almost HK$400 to almost HK$1,600, with public sales starting on August 4 via HK Ticketing.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
HKFP
18 hours ago
- HKFP
Hong Kong university student found guilty of insulting national anthem during World Cup qualifier
A Hong Kong university student has been found guilty of insulting the national anthem during a World Cup qualifier football match between the city's team and Iran in June last year. Lau Pun-hei, a 19-year-old student in politics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, was convicted on Wednesday for turning his back to the pitch while the Chinese national anthem, 'March of the Volunteers,' played ahead of the match at the Hong Kong Stadium on June 6, 2024. Magistrate Kestrel Lam of the Eastern Magistrates' Courts said the playing of the anthem before a match 'represented national pride, unity and identity.' 'That the defendant chose to turn his back to the pitch was obviously improper and disrespectful,' Lam said in Cantonese. The magistrate noted that Lau had turned his back to the pitch only during the Chinese anthem and that the student faced the pitch and clapped during the Iranian anthem. Lam found that it was a deliberate act to demonstrate Lau's dissatisfaction with, or contempt for, the national anthem. 'Different people may have different feelings towards the nation and its anthem. Supporters may sing along. Meanwhile, people who don't support the country should allow the anthem to be played solemnly,' the magistrate said. Lam rejected the defence's argument that some other people in the stadium, including the police officers who filmed the spectators while the national anthem was being played, also had their backs facing the pitch. The police officers were carrying out their duties, Lam said, but the student had no reason to do the same. Whether an act constitutes an insult to the national anthem must be based on the facts and the circumstances in the case, the magistrate added. He also rejected the defence's argument that the law was vague and could infringe upon one's freedom of expression. Steven Kwan, Lau's lawyer, told the court that the student was a keen supporter of Hong Kong and a staunch advocate of an eco-friendly lifestyle, showing his care for the world. Lau's offence was of a 'minor nature,' Kwan said, as his act was 'quiet, peaceful, and did not involve any violence.' Kwan urged the court to adopt a non-custodial sentence given the defendant's young age. Lam scheduled sentencing for August 13 to allow the court to receive a report on the defendant's background. Lau was given bail pending sentencing. Hong Kong passed the National Anthem Ordinance in 2020, which criminalises 'insulting behaviour' towards the anthem. Under the law, one must 'stand solemnly' and 'not behave in a way disrespectful to the national anthem.' Offenders may be punished by up to three years in prison and a fine of HK$50,000.
South China Morning Post
21 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Two more Chinese football officials jailed and fined in corruption crackdown
Two more Chinese football officials were sent to prison for more than a decade and ordered to pay huge fines on Wednesday, the latest move in an ongoing corruption crackdown in the sport. Advertisement Liu Jun, the former chairman of the Chinese Super League company, was given an 11-year jail term by a court in central Hubei province, and was also fined 1.1 million yuan (US$153,000) on charges of 'bribery'. State media said Liu's 'illegal gains resulting from the bribery' would be recovered and turned over to the state treasury. Reports of Liu's fall from grace emerged nearly two years ago when he was placed under investigation for suspected corruption. And Wang Xiaoping, who previously headed the Chinese Football Association's disciplinary committee, has been jailed for 10½ years and fined 700,000 yuan. Advertisement His 'illegal gains from bribery and related earnings' would be recovered and turned over to the national treasury, the people's court of Songzi City in Hubei announced in a public ruling.
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- South China Morning Post
How Ryan Choi's team turned unusual fencer into spectacular world champion
A colourful celebration could be on the cards for Hong Kong's Ryan Choi Chun-yin after the newly crowned fencing world champion was challenged by his coaches to mark his achievement with a 'rainbow' hairstyle. Yet Choi, 27, has already revealed a new side to himself, the coaches told the Post, having helped to transform him from an outsider only weeks ago to best on the planet in Georgia last week. Maurizio Zomparelli and Giacomo Fanizza, the city's foil coaches, respectively dyed their hair and beard pink last month when Choi won his first senior international title at the Shanghai Grand Prix. Since then, he has added Asian gold and the first world title by any Hong Kong fencer, which also lifted him from 12th in the world rankings to first – calling for an outlandish response, according to Zomparelli. 'Probably a multicoloured hairstyle this time … Ryan should be a part of this too,' the Italian said. But he already believes Choi has done something 'spectacular'. Ryan Choi with his world championship medal at Hong Kong's airport on Monday. Photo: Eugene Lee 'We decided to personalise Ryan's preparation, both in terms of fencing and athletic development,' said the former Italy and Russia coach, who oversaw nine medals, including five gold, at the London and Rio Olympics in 2012 and 2016.
