Chinese city's tennis ambitions imperilled by Peng Shuai scandal
The city of more than 17 million that neighbours Hong Kong had promised a state-of-the-art stadium, while local real estate developer Gemdale Corp put up $14 million in prize money - double the pot of the previous finals - winning the right to stage the event from 2019 to 2028
Hosting the Women's Tennis Association Finals was supposed to put the Chinese technology hub of Shenzhen on the sporting map, but the suspension of the tournament in the wake of the Peng Shuai scandal has left its ambitions in limbo.
China's "miracle" city, best known as the launchpad of the country's 40-year economic transformation, is among China's wealthiest and is home to tech giants including Huawei Technologies and Tencent Holdings.
In January 2018 the WTA announced that Shenzhen had trumped rival bids from Manchester, Prague, St Petersburg and former host Singapore to stage what would "easily be the largest and most significant WTA Finals" in its history, its chairman and CEO Steve Simon said at the time.
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The city of more than 17 million that neighbours Hong Kong had promised a state-of-the-art stadium, while local real estate developer Gemdale Corp put up $14 million in prize money - double the pot of the previous finals - winning the right to stage the event from 2019 to 2028.
