'Queen Wen', world stars turn center court into holiday attraction

Sold-out venues, practice courts swamped with enthusiastic fans and long lines at food and beverage booths — the China Open tennis tournament has emerged as one of Beijing's hottest holiday attractions as the sport's surging popularity takes the Chinese capital by storm.

Call it the "Queen Wen" effect if you will, public admiration for the racquet sport has increased manifold following Chinese women's tennis ace Zheng Qinwen's historic gold-medal finish at the Paris Olympics in August.

Zheng, who has earned the royal sobriquet from her growing legion of fans for her confident and aggressive style of playing, continued to ride her winning momentum on Wednesday to beat Amanda Anisimova of the United States in the fourth round at the China Open to reach her home WTA1000 tournament's quarterfinals for the first time, garnering enormous public interest.