SHENZHEN, December 28, 2018 (Press Release)

Young WTA stars Jelena Ostapenko and Wang Xinyu visited Gankeng Hakka Town, one of China’s most ancient towns, this morning to try their hands at the ancient Chinese art of silk dyeing.

The small village in the Longgang District of Shenzhen City, which has a history stretching back more than 300 years, has recently been rehabilitated and refurbished to preserve the original Hakka buildings and commemorate the culture.

Some of the highlights at Genkeng Hakka Town include an art museum, a specialty snuff store, a European-style railway station and Liangmao Village, home to the Hakka-style liangmao (a woven bamboo hat featuring a veil).

Set against the backdrop of this whimsical settlement, 21-year-old Latvian Ostapenko and 17-year-old Shenzhen native Wang both printed their names in wax onto a decorated silk fabric before dyeing the fabric to reveal their designs.

“Getting to draw on silk with wax, which I understand is a Chinese style of painting, was quite interesting. I’m very happy to be back in Shenzhen. I had an injury at the end of last season and missed some tournaments, so I am really looking forward to the beginning of this season and playing my first match,” said Ostapenko, who stunned the world by winning the 2017 French Open, becoming the first Latvian to win a Grand Slam and the first unseeded player to do so in 84 years.

Ostapenko is currently ranked at No.22 and seeded fourth in the Shenzhen Open singles main draw.

“Feels amazing to back in Shenzhen, it’s my hometown so it feels special to me. I had my off season here as well and the weather has been really nice for us to practice outdoors,” said Wang, who picked up an incredible two doubles junior Grand Slam titles in 2018 – the Australian Open with Liang En-shuo of Chinese Taipei and Wimbledon with compatriot Wang Xiyu.

World No. 306 Wang will feature in both the singles and doubles main draw of the Shenzhen Open as a wild card.