Host-with-the-most Macao keeps upping its game

Boasting high-quality facilities at the Macao Tennis Academy and five-star accommodation at the Grand Lisboa Palace, the Macao finals earned a resounding thumbs-up from the country's best players for the comfortable environment and professionalism on offer at the tournament.

A series of promotional events and leisure activities, such as a skywalk tour of the Macao Tower and an exhibition of tennis history, complemented the intense action on the court to leave players relishing their stay in the city.

"It's always enjoyable to play in a city like Macao, where the warm hospitality and professional organization from the host really made it easy for us to keep our focus on the court all the time," said veteran Zhang Ze, China's former men's No 1, who won the doubles title on Sunday with partner Terigele.

With Macao to co-host the 2025 National Games together with Hong Kong and cities in Guangdong province, the SAR government, sports authorities and promoting partners will keep bidding for more major sporting events while expanding grassroots sporting activities to further build on the momentum.

"I think it's a great gift that the CTA gave to Macao," Ng Ioc-leng, president of the Macao Tennis Association, said of the tour finals.

"It provides a window for local juniors to engage with the country's best, learn from their elite counterparts and improve their own game. It will also stimulate greater interest in the sport from the grassroots," she said.

Staged in cooperation with Colorful (Macao) Cultural Technology Consultancy Ltd, the CTA Tour finals in Macao landed major sponsorship deals from companies such as SJM Resorts, Air Macao and Tai Fung Bank, as well as broadcast support from China Central Television to further boost its profile since the inaugural edition last year.

Already a hot tourism destination thanks to its vast array of high-end hotels, local delicacies, historical sites and sightseeing spots, Macao is moving in the right direction to enhance its global appeal by adding sports entertainment to its portfolio, according to Tan Jianxiang, a sports sociology researcher.

"Major international sporting events are always catalysts for consumption growth in a wide range of businesses, a benefit fitting Macao's case perfectly," Tan, a professor at South China Normal University, said in his speech at a sports and tourism forum in Macao last week.

"With the central government encouraging the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to become a host of more international sporting events, I am very confident in Macao's ambition of developing into a world-renowned sports-tourism city," he said.