Juss International Tennis Academy

A new high-performance hub in Shanghai

Juss International Tennis Academy is a fresh entry to the elite training landscape in Asia, created by Juss Sports, the organization behind the Rolex Shanghai Masters and a long-time operator of major sports venues in the city. The academy was inaugurated in October 2025 in tandem with the first official ATP Performance and Development Center, a joint initiative designed to establish a world-class training base in Asia. In simple terms, it places professional-level infrastructure next to a daily training program that serves juniors, college-bound athletes, and players on the pathway to the tour. The launch signals Shanghai’s intent to build a full development corridor from early junior years through professional ranks, with the academy functioning as the day-to-day engine of that pathway.

Founding vision and what it means in practice

The founding brief is clear: integrate serious tennis training, education support, and event immersion under one umbrella so players can progress without leaving the region. The academy speaks the language of comprehensive development rather than a single-method school. That promise shows up in the way the program is designed to layer foundational coaching for pre-teens, high-intensity blocks for tournament juniors, and transition-to-pro support that mirrors services usually found in national training centers.

In practice, this means players are monitored across the full spectrum of development. Coaches use recurring technical checkpoints, performance testing, and structured competition to keep progress visible. A junior might spend the first part of a cycle normalizing contact points and movement patterns, then shift into pressure-set work and targeted tournaments. The academy’s proximity to Masters-level operations raises the ceiling: when professional players and performance staff are on site, standards are difficult to ignore.

Where it lives: Qizhong Tennis Center

The academy is based at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Tennis Center in Minhang District, a venue that has hosted the Shanghai Masters since 2009 and is widely recognized for its 13,779-seat stadium with a retractable roof. For player development, Qizhong’s architecture matters. It is a purpose-built complex for professional tennis, with show courts, match courts, and training courts in one place. That layout enables year-round access to outdoor hard courts, weather-safe indoor practice options, and occasional training within stadium environments when appropriate.

Shanghai’s climate gives the academy a long outdoor window. Winters are cool and damp but manageable, summers are hot and humid, and spring and autumn are ideal. The stadium roof and available indoor courts help keep schedules predictable during summer storms or winter rain. That reliability is not a small thing. Consistent court time translates into cleaner technical progressions and fewer skipped repetitions.

Facilities and technology

Qizhong’s headline stadium draws the eye, but the real advantage for daily training is the complete campus feel. The academy benefits from a mix of outdoor and indoor hard courts, performance gyms, treatment rooms, and access to the newly established ATP Performance and Development Center. For athletes, the practical meaning is straightforward:

• Structured strength and conditioning blocks planned across the year.
• Recovery protocols guided by sports medicine staff with clear return-to-load criteria.
• Video analysis to anchor technical checkpoints at regular intervals.
• Data capture from training and match play that is translated into simple, actionable targets.

While the complex serves as a major events venue, Juss International Tennis Academy has been conceived as a daily training center. That means the details matter: high-quality ball machines for volume work, camera setups for stroke diagnostics, foam rollers and percussive therapy for soft-tissue care, and cooldown stations that reduce the temptation to rush post-session routines. When the Shanghai Masters window arrives, academy operations adjust to the event footprint. The upside is significant: live match scouting opportunities for older juniors, behind-the-scenes learning about tournament operations, and proximity to one of the strongest hard-court fields of the season.
\One aspect families should plan for is residential life. There is no on-site boarding at Qizhong. Most families arrange housing in Minhang or nearby districts and commute to training. That keeps the academy lean and focused on performance, but it also means international families should plan schooling and accommodation early and map commute times carefully.

Coaching staff and philosophy

The academy has been set up to recruit a blend of domestic and international coaches, aligning local knowledge with global best practice. The philosophy is simple but demanding: technical clarity, tactical purpose, and physical robustness, supported by honest feedback and a competition plan that builds resilience. The tone is professional without being joyless. Sessions begin with intention, drills are scaled to skill level, and progress is measured in habits as much as in rankings.

On court, training leans into modern hard-court tennis. Players learn to build a reliable first-strike pattern while preserving the ability to defend, reset, and counter. Serve and return work anchors most weeks, followed by pattern play that blends depth control with selective pace. Live-ball drills simulate realistic point starts and transitions. Coaches use video to keep key positions honest: base positions on the return, contact height on the forehand, serve toss consistency, and posture through the kinetic chain.

Off court, coaches debrief using clear language rather than jargon. Players leave sessions knowing two or three priorities, not twelve. Homework might include short visualization scripts for serve routines or a clip-by-clip review of key point patterns from match play. Testing cycles are not punishment blocks; they are used to celebrate wins, identify leaks, and set the next target.

Programs for different stages

Juss International Tennis Academy serves multiple entry points so families can match commitment with need:

• Full-time high-performance training for competitive juniors who live in Shanghai and integrate schooling externally.
• After-school and weekend pathways for motivated local players.
• Seasonal camps and holiday accelerators for out-of-town families who want concentrated blocks.
• Transition-to-pro blocks for top juniors or college players seeking an Asian base during off-season or tour swings.
• Adult performance clinics that tap the same courts and fitness infrastructure, useful for parents who also want to train.

Because the academy is in its launch year, families should expect program calendars to expand and settle through the first full cycle. Youth competition series operated under the Juss umbrella are expected to provide regular match play without excessive travel. Exchanges with international coaching environments are also part of the ecosystem, valuable for both tennis development and language exposure.

If you are researching other Asian bases with a strong hard-court identity, it is useful to compare the Shanghai setup to regional peers like IMPACT Tennis Academy in Thailand and TAG International Tennis Academy in Singapore. Families who expect to shuttle between China and Southeast Asia may also find value in looking at the Hong Kong option at Rafa Nadal Center Hong Kong.

How players are developed

Player development is addressed across five domains, coordinated so that gains in one area support the others.

Technical development

The technical model emphasizes contact-point stability, footwork efficiency, and serve-forehand patterns that play on medium to quick hard courts. Early in a cycle, players lock in grips, swing paths, and spacing with the help of video checkpoints. Coaches then introduce variability through height, spin, and pace to stress-test strokes in match-like conditions. The goal is adaptable technique that travels across surfaces, not a style that only works on one speed of court.

Key checkpoints include:

• Balanced posture and clean spacing through the hitting window on both wings.
• Serve toss placement, shoulder-hip separation, and pronation timing.
• Return setup that prioritizes first-ball depth and neutral positioning.
• Footwork patterns that connect recovery steps with the next cue, avoiding flat-footed pauses.

Tactical development

Players learn to build points with clarity, using first-ball depth, mid-court patterns, and red-ball escapes under pressure. Match scripting is taught directly, not assumed. Before a match, juniors are expected to arrive with two or three base patterns for each opponent type, such as aggressive baseliner, counterpuncher, or big-server short-rally player. Coaches then teach adjustments through between-point routines rather than mid-rally chatter. The emphasis is on making one or two actionable changes that flip momentum, not wholesale rewrites mid-match.

Physical development

Strength and conditioning is periodized across the year with clearly defined phases. Movement mechanics, sprint mechanics, deceleration control, and shoulder-elbow robustness are non-negotiables. Sessions blend general athleticism with tennis-specific demands: lateral acceleration, crossover transitions, rotational power, and repeat sprint ability. Recovery is planned, not improvised. Athletes are screened for hotspots, and load is monitored during camp weeks and tournament windows. Injury prevention is treated as performance enhancement, not merely as risk management.

Mental skills

The academy favors simple mental checklists over abstract frameworks. Players learn breath resets, neutral body language, and rituals that anchor serve and return routines under noise and time pressure. Short, repeatable scripts are practiced during training so they hold up during matches. Confidence is built through evidence: honest debriefs, clear targets, and consistent practice of small, winnable behaviors.

Educational and life design

Because schooling is external, the academy helps families map timetables that avoid chronic fatigue. International families should discuss morning, mid-day, or late-afternoon training slots relative to school hours and Shanghai traffic. The staff encourages measurable sleep routines, structured nutrition plans, and reasonable device habits, because performance is difficult to sustain when life rhythms are chaotic.

Alumni and pathway

The academy is new, so there is no alumni list yet. The more relevant pathway is proximity to the Shanghai Masters and a permanent ATP presence. For ambitious juniors, that access can be catalytic: observation blocks during Masters week, guided scouting of practices, and occasional opportunities to hit as training partners when that is appropriate. Over time, expect an alumni board to emerge as cohorts move through Chinese national events, ITF juniors, college tennis, and entry-level professional circuits.

Families considering an Asia-first pathway often compare options across the region. For context on how different programs structure transitions to higher levels, you can explore profiles like Emilio Sanchez Academy Dubai or the junior pathway models at SITA Tennis Academy. Each environment solves a different problem set; the Shanghai setup stands out for its proximity to a Masters-level event and the formal performance center.

Culture and daily life

Culture is shaped by routines. On a typical day, juniors arrive for pre-activation in the gym, followed by a first on-court block focused on serve, return, and pattern work. After a break and school commitments, players return for a shorter second block targeted to individual priorities, then finish with strength and conditioning and recovery. Coaches try to separate learning blocks from performance blocks, so new skills are taught early in the week and pressure-set work comes late in the week.

Match play is scheduled regularly, often against players from neighboring clubs and schools. Parents are welcome to observe, with structured times for feedback to avoid sideline coaching. Because boarding is not on-site, community life happens on the courts and in the club areas. Families swap notes in the café between sessions, adults can join clinics or book court time through venue systems, and weekend blocks often host small draws or team match-ups that deliver purposeful competition without an exhausting commute.

Costs, access, and scholarships

As of October 2025, detailed tuition information had not yet been published publicly by the academy. Families should expect pricing to vary by program type: full-time junior training with daily court and gym access, part-time after-school packages, and camp rates for weekly holiday blocks. Because the site sits inside a major events venue with public booking systems for general play, court supply is robust, but academy courts and schedules are ring-fenced for training groups.

The academy’s plan for local youth competition suggests accessible match play without heavy travel and lodging costs, which is a meaningful budget win for families mapping a 10 to 12 month season. Scholarships were not detailed at launch. Given Juss Sports’ long-standing commitment to the city’s sports development and track record running major events and public venues, families can reasonably expect some form of need-based or merit-based support to evolve, particularly for nationally ranked Chinese juniors. Any financial support should be discussed directly with admissions once program details are released.

What makes it different

• ATP partnership next door. The academy sits beside an official ATP Performance and Development Center, which signals access to best practices and a steady flow of know-how from the men’s professional game.
• Venue quality and reliability. Qizhong is a Masters-level complex with a stadium roof, indoor options, and match-like environments that allow training continuity across seasons.
• Event immersion. Few academies operate within the same facility as a Masters 1000 tournament. The learning value during tournament weeks is considerable, from scouting to understanding match-day rhythm.
• Ecosystem scale. Juss Sports manages major venues across Shanghai, which can help with satellite courts, local matches, and community programming as the academy grows.

Future outlook and vision

It takes time for a new academy’s identity to solidify. The early advantage here is institutional backing and infrastructure. With a calendar that includes the Shanghai Masters and a daily training home inside Qizhong, the academy can attract coaches and athletes who want a serious hard-court base in Asia. Expect the first 12 to 18 months to focus on program rhythm, staff recruitment, and building a competition calendar that lets players accumulate match experience without excessive travel.

Over the medium term, the priorities are clear: formal school partnerships that respect training loads, a published testing and benchmarking battery across age groups, and the first cohorts moving into NCAA programs or into ITF and ATP events. As the alumni list grows, the academy will be able to document outcomes by pathway: national junior success, college placement, and pro-level progress points such as first ATP points or Challenger breakthroughs.

Is it for you

Choose Juss International Tennis Academy if you want a serious hard-court base in Asia tied to a Masters-level venue, if you value proximity to top-tier events, and if your family is prepared to coordinate school and housing independently. The academy’s strengths are infrastructure, professional adjacency, and an intent to build a clean pathway from local competition to elite levels. If you require full boarding with an on-site school, this is not that setup yet. If you value event immersion, modern facilities, and a technical-tactical approach calibrated for contemporary hard-court tennis, it is an exciting option to consider in Shanghai.

In a region with growing high-performance choices, the academy offers a distinctive proposition: a daily training home plugged into the highest tier of the men’s professional game. For the right player and family, that combination can accelerate learning, sharpen competitive instincts, and turn big-stage environments into familiar territory rather than intimidating one-offs.