By Qi Yuxuan
Beijing, September 2025 — "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the National Tennis Center for the 2025 China Open!" Announcements like this, delivered in clear, confident English resonated across the tennis courts, reaching both the on-site audience and global broadcast viewers.
Among the announcers were Huang Renkang and Zhou Yangyuqing, sophomore students majoring in Art of Announcing and Anchoring (Bilingual in Chinese & English) at Communication University of China (CUC).
Selected through a competitive process by the Organizing Committee for the China Open (OCCO), they served as English court announcers throughout the event, held in Beijing from September 14 to October 5. In total, they broadcast for 15 days and provided live coverage for 63 matches. This showcased their thorough preparation and bilingual competency to an international audience.
This year's tournament featured a world-class lineup, including Chinese star Zheng Qinwen, Italian top seed Jannik Sinner, and many other, raising both the stakes and the overall level of play.
The Opening Ceremony of the 2025 China Open, coupled with the "Chinese Tennis Night", took place at the National Tennis Center in Beijing on September 23. (Xinhua)
Zhou was assigned announcement jobs in multiple courts: Brad, Moonlight, and Lotus. A typical day for her involved announcing match order, introducing players, reporting scores and real-time updates.
One of her most challenging tasks was introducing the players, which required her to pronounce athletes' names accurately in their native languages instead of following English conventions.
"As soon as the next day's schedule was released, we would check player names on official WTA and ATP websites and confirm pronunciations, often on-site with players, umpires, or the court director," Zhou explained.
Zhou Yangyuqing prepared for the Opening Ceremony of China Open 2025 at Brad Court, National Tennis Center days ahead of the event.
A netizen with a Polish-style name Tymonizm commented on WeChat, "Great pronunciation of Swiatek," highlighting the announcer's dedication to accuracy.
Huang fulfilled English announcing duties for both the ATP 500 and WTA 1000 singles draws, as well as the J300 junior doubles final and trophy ceremony, delivering with consistent professionalism across every match.
Huang Renkang finished his evening broadcast of the first-round match between Tatjana Maria and Marie Bouzkova at Lotus Court, National Tennis Center, on September 24th.
Their professional performance at this global event was a reflection of the "multi-lingual, interdisciplinary, and versatile" talent cultivation objectives of the School of International Studies at CUC. Renowned as the "cradle of China's media and broadcasting talents", CUC equipped students with the professional expertise and practical skills essential for leading roles in the global media landscape.
Both students began formal announcement training three months before the tournament. During the event, "we need to be at our posts by 9 AM, finalize scripts by 10 AM, and start announcing at 11 AM," Huang noted, highlighting their demanding schedule and need to adapt to last-minute changes.
With CCTV providing live broadcasts, their delivery was at approximately 150 words per minute, accurately conveying match information and enhancing the on-court atmosphere.
"This hands-on experience perfectly bridges what we learned in the classroom with real-world practice," Huang shared his key takeaways.
More than andemonstration of the students' professional capabilities, this social service experience was also a powerful testament to CUC's commitment to cultivating high-caliber journalism and communication talents, guided by its educational philosophy of of fostering virtue through education, or Lide Shuren.
When Zhou was asked about her final thoughts, her response was simple but resolute: "The work cycle is long and the tasks are intense, but I would return next year without hesitation." In that simple statement was the essence of public service: finding profound personal fulfillment in contributing to the society, and inspiring fellow students to do the same.
Editor: Li Jichu
Responsible Editor: Meng Lanjuan
Managing Editors: Yu Ran, Chen Yiwen
