16 Aug 2021
Emma Raducanu's victory trended on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, equivalent of Twitter. The clip where the teenager tennis star thanked her Chinese fans in Mandarin has been watched 600million times and shared millions of times on the country’s social media platform. In the video, she said: 'Hi everyone, I'd like to say thank you to you all. I hope you enjoy watching my tennis. I'm so happy to win. Love you all.'
Emma's incredible performances in New York and at the Wimbledon tournament have seen her go from 366th in the world rankings to the top 25, increased her Instagram following to a staggering 1.2 million, and secured her first Vogue photoshoot, which appears in next month's issue.
Emma has just got her first $1million pay-day, and millions more in sponsorships are now guaranteed to follow for the teenager who is already the most successful female British tennis player in decades.
(Credit: Getty)
The popular culture and brand expert Nick predicted the teenager would become a 'billion dollar brand' and A-list sensation.
Emma’s Chinese heritage quickly gained her popularity in China. Her admission that her 'tough' parents' contributed to her self-belief and success could make her a huge brand ambassador in China while the country is preparing for the nation to be fitter and a bigger sports industry by 2025.
With its athletes excelling at the Olympic Games, China has issued a national fitness plan that sets ambitious goals for the proportion of residents exercising regularly to reach 38.5%, and the sports industry to be worth 5 trillion yuan ($773.6 billion) by 2025.
This suggests the sector is heading for an increase of 69.5 percent from its size in 2019. Such growth would be far higher than the average rate of 55.3 percent during 2016-19, media reports said. Sports equipment makers and industry practitioners expect the sector to fuel consumers' increasing appetite for sports activities and consumption. According to the statistics provided by Chinese job-hunting platform Liepin, new job vacancies in the sports industry jumped 24.2 percent in the first seven months compared with the same period last year. Sportswear brands Adidas, Anta, Li-Ning and sports app Keep topped the list of employers. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Team China bagged a total of 88 medals including 38 golds, 32 silvers and 18 bronzes, ranking second in the final medal tally. Spurred by the successful performance of Chinese athletes in Tokyo, market analysts are optimistic about the industry's prospects.
Sports goods account for about 60 percent of total earnings in the industry thanks to China's strong manufacturing, but in the sports services industry, such as sports competition and fitness training, China has huge room to grow, according to industry insider. However, the gap between the sports industries of China and the US remains large. According to a report by Deloitte, the average gym permeability in 18 Chinese big cities was only 3.9 percent in 2019, far behind the US (20 percent), the UK (15 percent) and Japan (8 percent). The key lies in education, industry practitioners commented, "We should produce more sporting talent at the higher education level, instead of people for competitions. That includes dieticians and physical therapists, who could support the sports industry."
*Source on Chinese sports industry from Global Times
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