Two decades and counting: Rolex pressing on with its support of tennis in China - The Business Times

[SINGAPORE] There are few sports venues in Asia – or around the world, for that matter – that are as mesmerising as the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena in Shanghai.

This modern and sprawling tennis complex – located about 30 km or so from the centre of one of China’s most populous cities – captivates visitors even before they have settled into their seats to watch a match.

The striking feature of the centre court here is its massive steel roof with eight sliding, petal-shaped pieces (each weighing around 2,000 kg) that resemble a blooming magnolia, Shanghai’s official city flower.

The beautiful petals can open and close in a spiral or pinwheel pattern in about eight minutes, which allows Qizhong to host events no matter the weather conditions outside.

Since 2009, Qizhong has been the home of the Rolex Shanghai Masters, the most prestigious men’s professional tennis tournament in all of Asia and still the only ATP Masters 1000 event that is held outside North America and Europe.

The Shanghai event is one of nine ATP Masters 1000 tournaments on the men’s tour, with these events below only the four Grand Slams in prestige and ranking points.

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This year’s tournament, which ran from Oct 5 to 18, was won by Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, with Rolex’s newest brand ambassador (or “Testimonee”, as they are called) Rafael Jodar continuing his brilliant season with a runner-up finish.

Among the other Testimonees in the 96-player singles draw were the world No 3 and seven-time Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Ben Shelton and Holger Rune.

Fellow Testimonee Jannik Sinner was the champion in 2024, while the now-retired Roger Federer triumphed at this event twice – in 2014 and 2017.

Including the four days of the pre-tournament Masters Carnival, about 248,000 fans passed through the turnstiles throughout this year’s tournament, with about 12 per cent coming from abroad, including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and elsewhere. In all, the tournament raked in more than 500 million yuan (US$75.1 million) in revenue.

The Shanghai Masters is played on hard courts, with this year’s edition having a total prize purse of just under US$9.42 million. The champion pocketed the lion’s share of US$1.15 million and 1,000 ranking points, with the runner-up taking home US$612,340 and 650 ranking points.

Rolex has been the title sponsor of the Shanghai Masters since 2009, with the first five editions (from 2009 to 2013) named the ATP Masters 1000 Tournament of the Year as voted by the players themselves.

The Swiss watchmaker has been involved with tennis for close to five decades, with the brand’s association with the sport starting in 1978 when it became the official timekeeper of Wimbledon. 

Today, Rolex also partners with the other three Grand Slam events – the Australian Open, Roland Garros (the French Open) and the US Open – along with all nine ATP Masters 1000 competitions and the season-ending ATP Finals.

Rolex is also a partner of all the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 1000 events and the WTA Finals, as well as team competitions such as the Laver Cup, Davis Cup Finals and Billie Jean King Cup Finals.

In China, Rolex has been involved in tennis for more than 20 years, dating back to 2005 when it became an official partner and timekeeper of the China Open in Beijing.

The Shanghai Masters’ tournament director Michael Luevano recalled how the current version of the tournament has roots that date all the way back to 1998, when Shanghai staged a men’s event called the Heineken Open.

That led to the first Masters Cup being held in 2002 that featured the top eight players in the world at the time, and the tournament ran until 2008.

“We were then given the opportunity to become a Masters event, and through that acquisition we met the people at Rolex, who shared our vision and DNA to promote the city of Shanghai, as well as the sport of tennis throughout China,” said Luevano, who celebrated his 30th year as a tournament director in 2025.

“Rolex is a historic brand and a brand of legacy. With them as our title sponsor, that ensures not only the premium opportunities and image that Rolex provides to the tournament, but also the longevity and the continued sharing of this same passion for tennis.”

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