Tennis serves up success in Hubei

Shanghai resident Zhang Mengting has just returned from a two-and-a-half-month stay in Jingshan, Hubei province. She's already counting down the days until she can go back.

This county-level city of fewer than 600,000 people has built 356 tennis courts, turned the sport into a civic religion, and drew 3.5 million visitors in 2025 alone.

In May, fresh from resigning from her job to take a gap year, and armed with only a handful of beginner tennis lessons from Shanghai, Zhang packed her bags and headed for Jingshan on a friend's advice that two months of intensive training in this tennis-obsessed city would outperform two years of weekly lessons in Shanghai.

During her stay, she would rise at 8 am and join a group class for three hours of training. Afterward, she'd find a local restaurant for lunch and order the regional specialty, Songziji, the local free-range chicken stir-fry.

After a midday nap, she'd return for another three-hour session in the afternoon.

Evenings were reserved for playing with friends at Wenfeng Park, where a prime-time court costs just 30 yuan ($4.4) an hour, and daytime slots are completely free.

"After playing, I'd take a walk in the park, sample snacks in the nearby night market, and enjoy the evening breeze. It was so relaxing," she recalls, adding that she is planning to go back to Jingshan with her husband during the National Day holiday in October.

She says that unlike Shanghai, where arranging a practice session requires greater time and financial commitment, in Jingshan it is very accessible and affordable.

"Almost every government department has its own tennis court, and they are open to the public for free," she explains.

"The city is small, and the courts are concentrated. It takes no more than 10 minutes to get to any of them. The locals are incredibly warm. It's common for strangers to share courts and invite each other to play."

She adds that at some local tennis clubs, members treat the venue as a full-fledged social hub, complete with tea, billiards, and lively conversation between sets.