China’s young tennis stars have impressed with their performances in recent months. But the country has been starved of international tennis during the pandemic. Now, the sport is set to make a welcome return. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has announced it will resume its events in China this year, having been given assurances about safety. The first tournament will be in Luzhou in June.

ITF events are not at the elite level, but they provide an important pathway for up-and-coming players. In the last full season before the pandemic, China hosted 25 women’s and 15 men’s ITF tournaments. It is good to see the tour return. Top level men’s events, run by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), are also due to come back to China this year. All its tournaments there were cancelled in 2022 because of the pandemic.

But a decision on the hosting of elite women’s events is still pending. The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) suspended tournaments in China in December 2021 after raising concerns about the position of former doubles champion Peng Shuai. Peng made allegations of sexual assault against a senior official, which she later withdrew. The WTA says discussions are continuing and a decision is expected soon. It is to be hoped a resolution can be found. Before the pandemic, China was a key host for women’s events, staging 10 in 2019, with prize money of US$30 million.

Hong Kong will be watching developments closely. The city’s flagship women’s competition, the Hong Kong Open, was last held in 2018, when it was named WTA tournament of the year. It has, in the past, attracted a glittering array of top players from around the world. There are also hopes an ATP event, for men, will be held in the city in January. These are exciting times for Chinese tennis. Wu Yibing became the first men’s singles champion from China on the ATP tour with a thrilling victory in the Dallas Open last month. Zheng Qinwen became the first Chinese teenager to rank in WTA’s top 30 last year.