As the Australian Open 2019 kicks off in the South Hemisphere, the annual first Grand Slam of the tennis season, once again attracts people’s attention from all over the world, including China. 

This year, there are three Chinese brands sponsoring the AO 2019. The highest level Chinese sponsor is Luzhou Laojiao, one of the three Associate Partners of the event, with the other two being ANZ and Rolex. Luzhou Laojiao signed a five-year agreement (2019-2023) with AO on October 9, 2018 with the reported fee for the deal being USD12m. 

Ganten, the mineral water premium brand, is another Chinese sponsor of AO with the two parties reaching a five-year agreement (2018-2022) on October 16, 2017. Ganten has been involved in many sports event sponsorships and is also associated with Juventus FC. It is said that their sponsorship fees was USD8.4m. 

The third sponsor, DeRucci, a manufacturer of healthy sleeping systems originated in China. 

Both Ganten and DeRucci belong to the third tier of sponsors, the Partners. 

Fourteen Chinese players (3 male and 11 female) will play in the first round of the 2019 AO. 

Proofread by Raymond Fitzpatrick