Chinese ball-kids chosen to work at 2013 Australian Open

Six best performing ball-kids receive certificates at the ongoing China Open in Beijing, Oct 15, 2013.

The inaugural ball-kid exchange program between the China Open and the Australian Open was announced on Center Court at the China Open on Saturday night in Beijing.

The six best performing ball-kids at the China Open have been selected to participate as ball-kids at next year's Australian Open. The announcement was made following the men's semi-final match between Novak Djokovic and Florian Mayer.

The children were chosen from the 200 children who worked at the tournament. Liu Quanyi, Tang Ruchen and Su Guchuan are the three boys selected while Feng Yifan, Wang Sining and Shang Huiyue are the three girls.

The children will be on court at the Australian Open in January 2013 alongside 360 Australian ball-kids and 20 Korean ball-kids.

Officials hope to make this an on-going program between the two tennis tournaments.

Also announced was the beginning of the Australian Open 2013 International Trophy Tour. Beijing and the China Open was the first stop on the tour. The tour continues to Fuzhou, Nanjing and Shanghai for various tennis events and promotional activities.