When the dust settles on the mercurial achievements of China's top two tennis players at the Australian Open last week in Melbourne, talk will inevitably turn to the continued development of sport in China.

Paul Ryding looks at how tennis is developing in China and how its tennis association is approaching its future development.

Reporter;

When Li Na and Zheng Jie first took to the court at Melbourne Park weeks ago, they would scarcely have imagined that they were about to embark on a sequence of performances that would see them make national history, and bring China to the forefront of world tennis.

In reaching the semi-finals of the women's singles competition, Li Na and Zheng Jie made history as the first Chinese to ever make up half of the draw in a Grand Slam tournament.

Their achievements were unprecedented.

Suddenly, the world's press turned their attention to China's "golden flowers", as they've been dubbed in the media, and within hours of them reaching the last eight, the number of Chinese correspondents inside Melbourne Park had tripled.
But while their tremendous feat was not overlooked, much emphasis was placed on the Chinese government's sports development program. A system widely speculated about, but little understood by most observers outside of China.

Youngsters who are chosen to join the China Tennis Association are looked after by the system in all aspects. They are supervised by 17 coaches, eight doctors and numerous sports scientists, nutritionists, psychologists and trainers. In addition, their travel, tournament entry fees and all other expenses are covered by the state.

In December 2008 the top four women in Chinese tennis, Li, Zheng, Peng Shuai and Yan Zi took the unusual step of breaking away from the country's tennis association and managing their own careers, setting up their training camps outside of China and employing foreign trainers and consultants.

Gao Shenyang is vice director of the China Tennis Association. He admits that Li and Zheng's recent elevation to elite world players may be linked to their decision to explore alternative paths in their careers, but acknowledges their years with the CTA have helped their development.

"Both of the player's teams, in my opinion, have proved successful as the ladies performed excellently in this year's first Grand Slam event. But Li and Zheng both have very strong basic skills and I think this is a benefit of the national sports system."

Francesco Paratore is a professional tennis coach from Australia who has worked around the world. He has been coaching in China for two years and believes Chinese players definitely benefit from exposure to a different tennis environment.

"Having the opportunity to have a foreign coach, or having the opportunity to have training in other countries where there are a vast number of different players, different coaches, and having access to different information, education, and different ways of doing things, has given them a lot more opportunities to learn, and you're seeing this come through now."

Whether attributable to their leaving the CTA or not, it's clear that the top Chinese players have benefited from an alternative education, a point that is not lost on Gao Shenyang.

"As the environment of professional tennis changes, it is clear that we cannot stick to the old management system. The fact that players are choosing to leave the national system shows that it does not meet their needs."

Although not the top racquet sport in China, the success of Li and Zheng will undoubtedly lead to a boost in the grass roots popularity of tennis. However, Gao Shenyang recognizes that there is still more the CTA can do to aid the development of tennis in China.

"We will start with the training of coaches. We have invited advisors from both China and the International Tennis Federation as consultants. Secondly, we will continue promoting the sport among the youth. We want to introduce more International Tennis Federation tournaments for the juniors. Eight to ten stops of the ITF junior tour will be in China this year. More than double previous years. The move gives the Chinese youth early interaction with their foreign counterparts. Not just in terms of skill, but also in their culture."

Francesco Paratore says he has noticed a surge in the popularity of tennis in China in just the last two years he has worked here. And he is sure that Li and Zheng's performances will see a further boost in the games popularity. Though he says grass roots development is something that the CTA needs to address if the country is to produce more world class players.

"I do really believe that there will be more players. Though there's gotta be a change in the way they play and a change in the way they train. And also the cost of actually playing tennis in China is quite high. So I think if they address these issues, China is going to become quite a power in tennis. "

Although it may be some years before we see a bunch of Chinese "golden flowers" dominating world tennis, the seeds for the future have definitely been sewn.

Thanks Paul for that interesting report into how tennis is developing in China.

You’re listening to Heartbeat.

There is only a week to go until Valentine’s Day and usually at this time of the year; people always hold an expectation of some sparkling love coming into their lives. Today we’ll introduce you a song called “Sparkle” by Della Ding.

Della had a difficult start to her singing career. However, her career took a turn for the better when she was signed to a record company in Taiwan. So far, she has released three albums. So now sit back, relax and take a listen to “Sparkle”.
That was ‘Sparkle’ by Della Ding

You’re listening to Heartbeat.

As always, you can find more information on our website at crienglish.com. Special thanks to the “China Now” team that helped make this show possible, and for everyone here at ‘Heartbeat’ I’m Jules Page.  Thanks for listening.