The 2012 Nike CTA (Chinese Tennis Association) coaches summit ended on Tuesday, with tennis coaches gathered at courtside of the China Open to share ideas.

The event attracted more than 200 tennis coaches from provincial teams, local clubs and sports schools to exchange thoughts and learn advanced methods from foreign experts at the three-day workshop.

Former USPTA chief Doug MacCurdy, ITF coach Ivan Molina and former Grand Slam finalist Marcos Baghdatis' mentor Guillaume Peyre gave lectures about youth training, skills development and training, with on-court demonstrations.

"It's been a great learning curve for us. We had the chance for the first time to learn some things we never paid attention to before, such as how to pick the right racket or strings for each player," said Liang Lixiong, a coach with Shanghai Dianfeng tennis club.

"The event has built a bridge for Chinese coaches to the world's elite level," said CTA chief Sun Jinfang. "It also provides a platform to share and improve. We hope to to keep doing it for a long time."

(China Daily 10/03/2012 page12)