On Saturday 12^th October, thirty-four pupils and six teachers attended the annual Shanghai Tennis Masters tournament.  The tournament is well known for attracting the best professional tennis players in the world. It was a fantastic experience for pupils and teachers to see professional sports men battling it out in the semi final stages of the tournament!

It was an early start to the day for everyone involved as the bus left school at 8:30am.  After fueling up for the day ahead during breakfast, pupils and teachers set off on the three-hour bus journey to Shanghai. We all arrived early in the afternoon to explore the stadium and soak up some tennis atmosphere while the sun was shining. After finding our seats close to the action, everyone was ready for an afternoon of tennis doubles matches.  

The first doubles match of the afternoon was Edouard Roger-Vasselin (France) and Nicolas Mahut (France)  vs  Lukasz Kubot (Poland) and Marcelo Melo (Brazil).  Kubot and Melo won this match. Pupils enjoyed learning about the rules of the game and the etiquette of watching and cheering during play.  

The next doubles match of the afternoon was Mate Pavic (Croatia) and Bruno Soares  vs  Jamie Murray (Great Britain) and Neal Skupski (Great Britain). We all had to make our way over to court 3 and there was a large crowd being entertained by this intense match. Pavic and Soares won this tightly contested match and they eventually went on to win the whole doubles competition. Some pupils even have the chance the see the players outside the court after the match.

After eating lunch, we all were ready and excited for the main event during the evening.  Stefanos Tsisipas (Greece)  vs  Daniii Medvedev (Russia) went head to head on centre court. It was fantastic tennis and the crowd were doing their best to cheer on their preferred player. Some pupils even managed to see themselves cheering on live TV in the stadium!  Medvedev went on to win the match in straight sets and progressed to win the final the next day. Critics are suggesting that he is a strong contender to win Wimbledon next year.  

After an incredible day of tennis, tired pupils (and teachers) made our way back to the bus to make the journey back to Changzhou that night.