Amateurs display their smashing form

A year ago, Li Jie could not even deliver a basic overhand serve.

The ball would loop short, drop at her feet or sail long. Rallies felt fragile. Matches were out of the question.

But last week, just one-month shy of her 55th birthday, Li stood on the courts of the ITF World Tennis Masters Tour MT400 tournament in Beijing's Changping district, an international event that drew 880 tennis enthusiasts from home and abroad.

She wasn't just watching. She was competing.

The ITF World Tennis Masters Tour is the official global recreational tennis circuit run by the International Tennis Federation. Designed for players aged 30 and over, it offers seven age categories from 30 all the way to over 70. Different tournament rating levels provide official world ranking points for amateur and veteran players worldwide.

Li teamed up with a female partner of similar age to compete in the 50+ doubles category.

During the five-day tournament, which kicked off on May 13, they even faced the second-seeded doubles pair. "I came here not for the win or loss," Li said on Thursday.

"I just hoped to hit a few good shots. Today I had several volley winners, and I was really happy with them."

She lives a stone's throw from the venue, the Shangdong Sports Center in Dongxiaokou town, where 25 outdoor courts sit inside Beijing's Aobei Forest Park. Most of her skills were honed right there.

The game changer came early last year, when the center launched off-peak "open play" sessions: play from 7 am to 4 pm for just under 40 yuan ($5.88).

There, Li found her tribe — like-minded partners to practice with and organize friendly matches.

That's when tennis stopped being a casual hobby and became a serious passion.

"I used to just rally back and forth — no matches at all," she admits. "I only really started playing last year. First, I worked on my volleys, then my backhand. It's like leveling up in a video game — so much fun."

During the tournament, she showed up every single day, whether to play her own matches or cheer for her friends.

"Tennis has completely taken over my retired life," Li laughs. "I used to love traveling. Now travel just gets in the way of tennis."

She now hits the courts three to four times a week, always in Dongxiaokou, where some courts are free and others cost next to nothing.

Li's growing passion mirrors something larger.

Dongxiaokou, once an unremarkable town on the urban-rural fringe of north Beijing, is quietly becoming the city's rising tennis hub.

Through an ever-improving cluster of indoor and outdoor facilities, the town is fostering a genuine grassroots tennis culture and promoting cultural and tourism development through sports.

To prepare for the tournament, the area built Changping district's first air-supported gymnasium and added two new center courts with stands that can accommodate nearly 1,000 spectators.

During the competition, events such as a forest concert, a players' banquet and fun challenge games further enriched the experience.

In addition, players received discounted tickets to visit tourism attractions like the Juyongguan section of the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs in Changping.

Celebrities, including tennis player Wang Qiang and singer Liu Genghong, also a tennis enthusiast, appeared at the opening ceremony to interact with the players.

For Balan Ramadass, a retired software consultant who traveled all the way from India to compete in the 55+ age category men's singles as the third seed, the tour enables him to enjoy tennis while sightseeing in different places. It is his first time visiting Beijing.

"I'm 55 years old, and I'm enjoying tennis with tourism. Beijing is also an ancient city, so I want to see the historical places," he said, adding that he had previously visited the tour's stops in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

According to registration data, this year's tournament showed strong popularity across multiple age groups. The 30+ and 40+ categories remained the categories with the most participants. The 50+, 55+, and 60+ categories, however, showed robust growth, fully demonstrating the rising momentum of amateur tennis in Beijing and across China.

The tournament also attracted 37 players from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, as well as 47 players from other countries and regions.

"Most international tennis tournaments are open only to professional players, but this tournament is one of the rare international events that allows true amateurs to compete," said Qiu Youyi, 48 and the tournament's sixth seed.

"The matches use a best-of-three format, which is very uncommon in amateur tournaments. The overall experience is more professional and standardized."

He has participated in three different stops of the tour before, noting that in such a tournament, players with different backgrounds compete together, making playing styles more diverse and increasing both the excitement and challenge of the competition.

Having played tennis for 20 years, Qiu believes the hobby has made him a better problem solver.

"Work and life are just like playing tennis. There will always be smooth days and really tough days, but you have to get through them either way. On the tennis court, no matter how bad your form is, or how good your opponent is, you still have to face the match. Then you try to win through effort and by making the necessary adjustments," he said.