Homegrown heroes grab gold at Guiyang Open

China's Bai Yan pumps his fist during the men's singles final at the 2023 Guiyang International Tennis Open on Sept 24. [Photo/Guiyang Daily]

China's Bai Yan – who hails from Guiyang and is 536th in the world tennis rankings – faced Germany's Yang Delong in the men's singles final of the 2023 Guiyang International Tennis Open on Sept 24.

After some fearsome rallies between the two men at the Guiyang Tennis Sports Administration Center in Guiyang, the capital city of Southwest China's Guizhou province, Bai vanquished his opponent with a score of 6-2.

Afterwards, he was awarded the winner's medal by Liu Sipei, former president of the Guizhou Tennis Association. Rao Zuyue, director of the Guiyang sports bureau, handed Yang the silver medal as runner-up.

The event concluded successfully after hosting 172 matches in 15 days.

Chinese players won four titles, with Guo Hanyu also racing to victory in the women's singles competition.

The other gold medals were pocketed by Liu Shaoyun and Zheng Zhan in the men's doubles and Guo Hanyu and Jiang Xinyu in the women's doubles.

The successful hosting of this tennis showcase not only played a positive role in helping Chinese players compete for points in the world rankings, but has also shone a light on the popularization and development of the sport in Guizhou province and Guiyang city.