Boris Becker, a six-time tennis major singles champion and coach of current world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, last Saturday announced a partnership with the Mission Hills Group to open the world’s first Boris Becker Tennis Academy in Shenzhen.

Becker also hopes to co-operate with the Group in terms of organizing tennis tournaments and training camps. The former world No.1 tennis player believes that the partnership will help China become a major force in world tennis.

While being asked, at a news conference, when China will have its own Novak Djokovic, Becker said it will be a big challenge: “We like challenges; that’s a long-term project and cannot be done overnight. It starts on the ground, from the teenagers. Hopefully, in a couple of years, we will be surprised by the result.”

Mission Hills has hosted hundreds of tennis tournaments and been the training ground for the country’s national team. With the increasing number of tennis players in China, the partnership between Mission Hills and Boris Becker will further popularize the sport in China, said Tenniel Chu, the Mission Hills Vice Chairman.

Source: Shenzhen Daily
Proofread by John Devlin.