Funded by the governing body and marketing partners, such as the Macao finals' title sponsor SJM, the tour offers a generous prize pool at each of the top-tier 1,000 tournaments with the biggest purse of the year in Macao easily eclipsing most of the financial rewards offered at the entry-level events on the ATP and WTA circuits.

Highlighted by the tournament's quality on and off the court at the Macao finals, the CTA Tour has cemented its status as a steppingstone for China's young hopefuls to progress in the pro ranks, said CTA vice-president Liu Wenbin.

"Over three years of hard work, despite the challenges of the pandemic, the CTA Tour has developed a ladder system for up-and-coming young players and even promising amateurs to maintain their form by competing on the tour on a regular basis," said Liu, who is also director of the National Tennis Administrative Center.

"Chinese tennis has witnessed significant breakthroughs this year and much of the credit goes to the drills that the top players experienced on the tour."

With all the country's top aces resuming international play on pro circuits this year, Chinese tennis celebrated a major breakthrough in the men's game, with Zhang Zhizhen cracking the world's top 100 to become the first male Chinese mainland player to do so following a quarterfinal run at an ATP 250 event in Italy in October.

Zhang's younger compatriot Wu Yibing, winner of the 2017 US Open boys' tournament, also made huge strides by reaching the last 32 in New York, having battled through the qualifiers in September to prove that his junior breakout was by no means a one-hit wonder.

Both Zhang and Wu were consistent competitors on the CTA Tour's inaugural season in 2020 when the COVID-19 outbreak had forced them to stay at home.

"The level of competition on the domestic circuit helped them stay in shape and got them ready when international play resumed," said Peng Lingchang, general manager of the event's co-operating company, Beijing CTA Tour Sport Management Co Ltd.