A new partnership between the Chinese Tennis Association and French Tennis Federation is set to benefit young Chinese players.

Thanks to Li Na's epic French Open victory in 2011, Roland Garros is now regarded as a key sporting venue in China and it will gain even more exposure with the launch of a promotional event, "Roland Garros in Beijing", next month.

The six-day exhibition, which will be staged for the second straight year at Beijing's landmark shopping center, The Palace, from June 4, will feature various tennis-themed activities on one full-size and two mini red-clay courts - the same surface as at Roland Garros.

Fans will also be able to watch French Open matches live on huge screens in the plaza square, which will feature Paris-like street lamps and benches.

"The Chinese public will have a chance to taste an authentic French Open atmosphere in the capital city of China, which is helpful in promoting the sport," Sun Jinfang, chief of the CTA, said at the French Embassy in Beijing on Tuesday.

The launch also marked the beginning of a four-year agreement between the CTA and the FFT, which will focus on youth development, coaching, ball children and umpire education and clay-court construction.

"We've brought part of the French Open experience to Beijing and now we will move on in the next four years to try to share more expertise with Chinese tennis under the new deal," Jeremy Botton, deputy manager of the FFT, said.

With the help of French coaches David Moreau and Guillaume Peyre, China's leading male players, Wu Di and Zhang Ze, have made great strides over the past few years, improving their world rankings and also reaching Grand Slam qualifying tournaments. Wu became the first Chinese male to make the main draw of a Grand Slam when he qualified for this year's Australian Open.

"We will also invite Chinese coaches to France for educational programs and this will hopefully help us pass on our great experience to China," Botton said.

Although Li's groundbreaking win happened on clay, it remains a tricky surface to play on in China due to the limited number of courts and high rentals.

However, that situation won't last for long as the FFT plans to bring its know-how to China and build high-quality clay courts.

"It's a major part of our cooperation," Sun said. "Building more clay courts will boost the public's participation in tennis, which is important in producing future stars."

With the help of the FFT, the CTA will build the first Roland Garros-standard red-clay training base at the Chinese Tennis Academy in Nanjing, Jiangsu province.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 05/26/2013 page7)