How Li Na and the $225 million Wuhan Open took on the world

    By Danielle Rossingh, for CNN

    Updated 1422 GMT (2222 HKT) September 24, 2016

    The Wuhan Open in Hubei province, central China, has spent 1.5 billion yuan ($225 million) on its facilities since its inception in 2014.
    Photos: China's tennis ambition
    The Wuhan Open in Hubei province, central China, has spent 1.5 billion yuan ($225 million) on its facilities since its inception in 2014.
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    Last year, the city's most famous resident, two-time grand slam winner Li Na, opened the tournament's new 1 billion yuan center court. Here the Chinese tennis star is pictured with Martina Hingis during a promotional event in Wuhan in 2015.
    Photos: China's tennis ambition
    Last year, the city's most famous resident, two-time grand slam winner Li Na, opened the tournament's new 1 billion yuan center court. Here the Chinese tennis star is pictured with Martina Hingis during a promotional event in Wuhan in 2015.
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    Night sessions at the 2016 Wuhan Open will start an hour later to give fans more opportunity to attend in the evening.
    Photos: China's tennis ambition
    Night sessions at the 2016 Wuhan Open will start an hour later to give fans more opportunity to attend in the evening.
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    Modeled on the Australian Open venue, Wuhan's main stadium court has a retractable roof and is big as Wimbledon's Centre Court with space for 15,000 tennis fans. Li and two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova attended last year's opening ceremony of the Optics Valley International Tennis Center.
    Photos: China's tennis ambition
    Modeled on the Australian Open venue, Wuhan's main stadium court has a retractable roof and is big as Wimbledon's Centre Court with space for 15,000 tennis fans. Li and two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova attended last year's opening ceremony of the Optics Valley International Tennis Center.
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    A superstar in China, Li became a global ambassador for her hometown event in May of this year. Here she takes a selfie with fans during a tennis masterclass last year.
    Photos: China's tennis ambition
    A superstar in China, Li became a global ambassador for her hometown event in May of this year. Here she takes a selfie with fans during a tennis masterclass last year.
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    Li's success in becoming Asia's first grand slam singles champion has helped boost the profile of tennis in China.
    Photos: China's tennis ambition
    Li's success in becoming Asia's first grand slam singles champion has helped boost the profile of tennis in China.
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    Venus Williams posing with the Wuhan Open trophy, the 47th singles title of her career, in front of the stadium after she beat Spain's Garbine Muguruza in last year's final.
    Photos: China's tennis ambition
    Venus Williams posing with the Wuhan Open trophy, the 47th singles title of her career, in front of the stadium after she beat Spain's Garbine Muguruza in last year's final.
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    Wuhan Open tennis new stadium roofli na martina hingis wuhanWuhan Open tennisWuhan Kvitova LiLi Na selife wuhanfans of li na wuhan 2015Wuhan Open Venus

    Story highlights

    • Li Na global ambassador for hometown event
    • Wuhan using sports to showcase itself
    • $150M center court is as big as Wimbledon's

    London (CNN)Take one of Asia's biggest sports stars, a multimillion-dollar investment and a Chinese city determined to compete domestically and internationally, and what do you have?

    The Wuhan Open.
      The tennis tournament, which starts Sunday in the hometown of Asia's first major singles winner Li Na, is only in its third year.
        Yet it has spent 1.5 billion yuan ($225 million) on facilities that wouldn't look out of place at any of the four majors, and most of the women's top 10 -- except the injured Serena Williams -- are due to take part.
        "This is very much a city branding exercise," professor Simon Shibli, head of Sheffield Hallam University's Sports Industry Research Center in England, said in a phone interview.
        Li Na takes a selfie with fans during last year's Wuhan Open in her hometown in central Hubei province..
        Li Na takes a selfie with fans during last year's Wuhan Open in her hometown in central Hubei province..
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