"Take away Chinese events, what's the point" - Fans call out 'embarrassing' empty stands at China Open during 1R battle between top Chinese ATP stars

On Friday, September 27, two of the top Chinese stars, Shang Juncheng and Yunchaokete Bu, faced off in a highly anticipated first-round match on Center Court at the 2024 China Open. Despite the significance of the matchup, the event was marked by empty stands and it drew criticism from fans online.

Friday marked Day 2 of the main draw at the ATP 500 event, China Open. The first match on Diamond Court at the China National Tennis Center featured an all-Chinese showdown between Yunchaokete Bu, a Hangzhou Open semifinalist, and Juncheng Shang, the recent Chengdu Open winner.

Both players are among just four Chinese male athletes to break into the ATP Top 100, adding excitement to the clash. Despite the homegrown talent on display, the 15,000-seat stadium saw a disappointing turnout, with numerous empty stands shortly before the match began.

An X account posted an image of the empty stands and stated:

"Morning from Beijing, where nobody showed up so far to watch Shang vs. Bu"

Fans speculated that the empty stands might be due to poor marketing efforts and some suggested that China should not host any more events.

"I think it has to do with the marketing and timing of these sort of matches, you can’t put a match like this in the work hours of a largely commercial city," one fan wrote.

"Do they not market this event in the city at all? Surely a a city of 22 million should be able to get fans to come to support two Chinese players who should be becoming bigger names in the country," another fan wrote.

"Man I’m so serious take away the Chinese events. No one shows up; terrible part of the schedule where everyone is burnt out…what is the point?" a third fan asked.

"Wow this is absolutely embarrassing. Maybe they shouldn't do tournaments in China anymore," yet another fan wrote.

Some fans, however, defended the situation and blamed the timing of the match.

"Morning could be used as an excuse but it's still bad," one fan wrote.

"It's a work day, an early round and the match has barely started. Even in slams, the crowd take time to filter in," another fan wrote.

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Yunchaokete Bu defeats Shang Juncheng in all-Chinese 1R at China Open 2024

Bu Yunchaokete at the 2024 China Open (Image: Getty)

Yunchaokete Bu emerged victorious in the all-Chinese first-round match at the China Open. He got the better of compatriot Shang Juncheng after coming back from a set down 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-4.

Bu recently entered the ATP Top 100 and is currently the World No. 96. In the second round, he will take on Lorenzo Musetti. The Italian was defeated by Shang a few days ago in the Chengdu Open final.