The Australian Open Trophy Tour arrived in China this week, with a first stop at the China Open where world No.1 Victoria Azarenka won the women’s event overnight, beating Maria Sharapova 63 61.
The trophies were positioned in their own showcases outside the stadium, to the delight of tennis-goers who lined up for photos with the men's and women's Australian Open singles trophies.
They also made it onto centre court during the men’s semifinals, for a presentation that was televised on CCTV, and revealed as part of a special ceremony to announce the Australian Open ballkid exchange program in China.
Next stop for the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup and the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Trophy is Fuzhou, followed by Xiamen on October 11 and Zhangzhou on Friday.
The Trophy Tour winds into Nanjing on October 15 for the start of the Australian Open wildcard playoff.