Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova and beaten finalist Serena Williams will play at the inaugural China Open in Beijing this September.

 

Organizers say Russian Sharapova and six-time Grand Slam champion Williams join a list of top male players at the event, including 2000 U.S. Open champion Marat Safin.

 

China Open director Lincoln Venancio says the aim is to develop the event into one of the world's top five tennis tournaments.

 

The Open will be held on 15 hard courts at the capital city's new tennis center.

 

State television giant CCTV plans to broadcast it to an audience of 700 million people and it's expected to reach the largest domestic audience for any tennis event.

 

Up to 600,000 people are expected to attend the September 10-26 tournament, which includes men's, women's, juniors' and seniors' brackets.

 

(CRI September 10, 2004)