China's tennis chief Sun Jinfang has conceded the country's women's players are too "feeble" to be a major force on the WTA Tour.

 

The governor's words came after a disappointing end to the year's last Grand Slam tournament, with no team member advancing beyond the second round of either singles or doubles at the US Open.

 

"Chinese tennis is very feeble overall," Sun, the Administrative Center of Tennis director, told reporters in New York.

 

"They have made some improvements over the past years and had some highlights, but they are not a major force on the tour, and they cannot withstand the elements."

 

China's singles player Li Na and Grand Slam doubles title winner Zheng Jie were sidelined with injuries while the rest of the team failed to deliver any major breakthroughs.

 

Much hype had accompanied Zheng's doubles partner Yan Zi into the US Open after she made a semifinal in the tier-one Rogers Cup event.

 

But her luck ran out at the hands of Russian Ekaterina Bychkova, who beat the Chinese star 6-2, 6-4 in the first round.

 

Peng fared no better, losing to Italian veteran Flavia Pennetta 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.

 

"It was a very tough tournament for us," Sun said.

 

"Li and Zheng are the team's backbone -- we are a different team playing without them. As long as they stay healthy, I am sure we are able to play better tennis than what we did at the US Open."

 

Last year marked a number of career highlights for many of the players as they scaled the rankings and won Grand Slam titles on the way up.

 

But 2007 has been a letdown, with injuries and a general loss of form plaguing the camp.

 

The 25-year-old Li injured a rib at a Wimbledon warm-up tournament and missed the Grand Slam as well as a number of hard-court tournaments in North America.

 

Meanwhile, Zheng has been recovering slowly after surgery on her right ankle in Beijing last month. Zheng's injury has also hampered Yan as the duo, winners of the Australian Open and Wimbledon doubles last year, slipped to No 13 and 15 from three and four in the doubles rankings.

 

Sun and her coaching board believe the team should not only focus on Li and Zheng but develop its overall strength after the US Open.

 

"We have to make sure everybody can play in both singles and doubles events," said the team's head coach Jiang Hongwei.

 

"It is very risky to just put all pressure on Li and Zheng.

 

"You have to be an all-round team if you want to make a splash at the Beijing Games next year, and definitely, we have a lot of work to do after the US Open."

 

Sun said Russia was a good example for China to follow.

 

"They have a number of players in the top 30 -- it's a huge advantage," she said. "So they have what it takes to deal with injuries, but for us, the situation would be in a mess if the top player can not play -- we need to learn from them."

 

(China Daily September 5, 2007)