Before You Buy: Badminton Racket Myths Busted in Melbourne

Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Lǐníng Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī

Li-Ning Co., Ltd.
Simplified Chinese	李宁有限公司
Traditional Chinese	李寧有限公司

Li-Ning Company Limited is a Chinese sportswear and sports equipment company founded by former Olympic gymnast Li Ning. The company endorses a number of international athletes and teams worldwide in pursuit of the North American market(s).

The company was founded in 1989 by Li Ning, a former Chinese Olympic gymnast. As of 2015, Li Ning remained the chairman of the company's board of directors.^[3] In 2005, Li-Ning created a joint-venture with French sports apparel company, AIGLE, giving Li-Ning the exclusive right to be the sole distributor of AIGLE's products in China for 50 years.^[4] In 2006, Li-Ning posted revenues of US$418 million, and total profits of about US$39 million. As of March 2007, there were 4,297 Li-Ning retail stores.^[5] The company directly owns some of the retail stores while others are franchised.

In January 2010, Li-Ning opened its U.S. headquarters and flagship store in Portland, Oregon. In 2010, as part of the 'Revitalization' of the brand, Li-Ning released a new logo and the new slogan "让改变发生" "Ràng Gǎibiàn Fāshēng" in Chinese, translated to "Let the Change Occur" in English. In January 2011, Li-Ning entered into a partnership with Chicago-based Acquity Group^[6] to expand its U.S. distribution and brand awareness.

In April 2012, Li-Ning was awarded the highest distinction of "Outstanding Contribution to Quality Standardization Award" in knitwear division at the Third National Textile Standardization Technical Committee's inaugural meeting held in Zhuhai, Guangdong. In September 2012, Li-Ning signed into a partnership with NBA player Dwyane Wade.

In 2013, The Group recorded revenue of RMB2,906 million, which represented a decrease of 24.6% year-on-year, due to near-term focus on sell-in reductions, inventory clearance, and reducing the number of stores.^[7] The Group projected a net loss of up to 820 million yuan (US$13.19 million) for 2014, the third straight year where it was unprofitable.^[8][9]

In 2019, Li-Ning reported revenues increased by 32 percent and reached 13.87 billion yuan against 10.51 billion yuan a year ago. Net profit attributable to equity holders increased to ¥1.5 billion from ¥715.3 million which vaulted 110 percent.^[10]

In 2020, Li-Ning saw its revenue increase 4.2 percent year-on-year to 14.46 billion yuan ($2.22 billion), the net profit increased on a comparative basis by 34.2 percent to 1.7 billion yuan ($261 million).^[11]

On 7 March 2022, the world largest sovereign wealth fund, the Government Pension Fund of Norway excluded and divested from Li-Ning. The reason for this exclusion was an "unacceptable risk that the company contributes to serious human rights violations".^[12][13] That same month, the US Customs & Border Protection began detaining Li-Ning products from entering American soil due to the company using North Korean labor in its supply chain, causing them to withdraw from the US market.^[14]

The company has used sponsorship deals, particularly with athletes and sports teams, both in China and abroad, to raise its profile.^[15]

In 2006, the company entered strategic collaborations with the National Basketball Association, the Association of Tennis Professionals, the Chinese University Basketball Association, and the Chinese Football Association. It also signed sponsorship deals with the Chinese national teams and the Sudan track and field team. The company would also provide apparel for the Argentina national basketball team at international events including the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Olympics. A similar deal was made with the Swedish Olympic Committee.^[5]

Indian Olympic Association had signed a sponsorship deal with Li Ning for the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics.^[16]

In celebration of its 30th anniversary, the brand held a fashion show on January 18, 2020, during Paris menswear fashion week. The show also showcased a 10-piece capsule collection in collaboration with Jackie Chan and a sneaker done up with Dwyane Wade.^[17]

Li-Ning sought sponsorship opportunities related to the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing, China. The company arranged to outfit every presenter for broadcaster CCTV-5, the sports channel of the Chinese Central Television.^[18] Li-Ning also sponsored the Chinese national teams of Gymnastics, Table Tennis, Archery and Diving. It also sponsored the Spanish basketball team, as well as the Argentine and Swedish Olympics teams.

In a now famous case of ambush marketing (a subset of guerilla marketing), when entire countries were tuned to the 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, millions saw Li Ning light the torch.^[19] Though the Li-Ning company was not an official sponsor of the games, it had still associated itself with the games through its role as an equipment supplier for several Chinese Olympic teams, and through Li's status as a Chinese sports and business icon. Consequently, the ceremony generated tremendous exposure for Li's eponymous company to the chagrin of official sports apparel supplier Adidas, as viewers did not realize that he had been fully dressed in Adidas as per its sponsorship rights to the Games.^[20] The company's share price increased by over 3% on the first day of trading after the opening ceremony.^[21]

Li-Ning was an official marketing partner of the National Basketball Association and has/had sponsorship deals with ten players: Baron Davis (retired), Shaquille O'Neal (retired), Damon Jones (retired), José Calderón (retired), Cleanthony Early of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Glenn Robinson III of the Golden State Warriors, Evan Turner of the Atlanta Hawks, Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat (lifetime contract), and CJ McCollum of the New Orleans Pelicans.^[5]

In 2006, O'Neal signed a four-year deal with Li-Ning, reportedly worth US$1.25 million, the largest deal made by the company, and the highest profile signing of an American sports star by a Chinese company.^[22] O'Neal cited former teammate Damon Jones and the Spanish national basketball team's deal with Li-Ning as influences on his decision to sign with Li-Ning.^[23][24]

Previously, Li-Ning also operated as shirt sponsor for the Vietnam national football team from 2006 to 2008, which saw Vietnam's prominent rise to successes in 2007 AFC Asian Cup and 2008 AFF Championship.

In 2010, Li-Ning became the official shirt sponsor for Tajikistan's tennis team, as well as for FC Istiklol.

In 2012, Dwyane Wade left the Jordan Brand for Li-Ning. The deal was worth $10 million.^[25]

In 2019, Li-Ning announced that it would not do business with the Houston Rockets after the General Manager of the NBA team tweeted in support of the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests.^[26] Also, Li-Ning along with Sunlight Sports Pvt. Ltd. (representative and distributor of Li-Ning in India)^[27] signed sponsorship deals with Indian badminton players P V Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth.^[28][29]

• Indonesian Olympic Committee
• Mexican Olympic Committee

•  Indonesia (Asian Games and Sea Games only)

• Tajikistan Fed Cup team

• Max Parrot

•  Tajikistan
•  Vietnam

• Lin Dan
• Dejan Ferdinansyah
• Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja
• Goh Liu Ying

In July 2011, Li-Ning, along with other major sportswear and fashion brands including Nike, Adidas and Abercrombie & Fitch, was the subject of a report by the environmental group Greenpeace entitled 'Dirty Laundry'. Li-Ning, along with Abercrombie & Fitch, Adidas, Bauer Hockey, Calvin Klein, Converse, Cortefiel, H&M, Lacoste, Nike, Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation (PVH Corp) and Puma, were accused of working with suppliers in China who, according to the findings of the report, contribute to the pollution of the Yangtze and Pearl Rivers.^[34] Samples taken from one facility belonging to the Youngor Group located on the Yangtze River Delta and another belonging to the Well Dyeing Factory Ltd. located on a tributary of the Pearl River Delta revealed the presence of hazardous and persistent hormone disruptor chemicals, including alkylphenols, perfluorinated compounds and perfluorooctane sulfonate.^{[citation needed]}

• Official website

 

 

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Rackets or racquets is an indoor racket sport played in the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada. It is infrequently called "hard rackets" to distinguish it from the related sport of squash (also called "squash rackets").

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Historians generally assert that rackets began as an 18th-century pastime in London's King's Bench and Fleet debtors' prisons. The prisoners modified the game of fives (in the process creating Bat Fives) by using tennis rackets to speed up the action. They played against the prison wall, sometimes at a corner to add a sidewall to the game. Rackets then became popular outside the prison, played in alleys behind pubs. It spread to schools, first using school walls, and later with proper four-wall courts being specially constructed for the game. The lithograph at right dating from 1795 shows schoolboys 'hitting up' outside the Harrow School 'Old School' buildings.^[1]

Eglinton Castle in Scotland, now largely demolished, had a "Racket Hall" which is first shown on the 1860 OS map, but estate records show that it was built shortly after 1839, the first recorded match being in 1846. The floor is of large granite slabs, now hidden by the wooden floor. It is the very first covered racket court and is now the oldest surviving court in the world, as well as being the oldest indoor sports building in Scotland. It has been restored as a racket hall, but used as an exhibition area.^{[2][citation needed]} Some private clubs also built courts. Along with real tennis and badminton, rackets was used as an inspiration for the game of lawn tennis, which Walter Clopton Wingfield claimed he invented in 1873, but this was not so, as others had been playing lawn tennis since as early as 1859, including J.B. Perera and Harry Gem. Wingfield did obtain a patent on his proposed peculiarly-shaped "hourglass" lawn tennis court in 1874, but it lasted in use no more than a year before it was shelved by the Marylebone Cricket Club's 1875 official rules mandating the rectangular court in use both before and after Wingfield's hourglass court. A vacant rackets court built into the University of Chicago's Stagg Field served as the location of the first artificial nuclear chain reaction on December 2, 1942. The Stagg Field court is often mistakenly identified as having been a "squash rackets" court.^{[citation needed]} Rackets was part of the 1908 Summer Olympics program and was played at the Prince's Club in London;^{[citation needed]} the winner was Evan Noel.

After the second world war rackets saw a drop in popularity resulting in the closure of some courts and others suffering from a lack of maintenance. Dick Bridgeman, an advocate for the sport (and later a British Doubles Champion) established what was then the Dick Bridgeman Tennis and Rackets Foundation. The foundation sought donations to support young professionals thereby ensuring the future of the game. Now known as simply The Tennis and Racquets Foundation, it continues to raise money for young professionals raising the profile of rackets worldwide.^[3]

The Book of Racquets was published by J. R. Atkins in 1872. It was reprinted to commemorate the 1981 World Rackets Challenge Match between W. J. C. Surtees and J. A. N. Prenn as a limited edition of 250 copies.^[4]

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Rackets is played in a 30-by-60-foot (9.1 by 18.3 m) enclosed court, with a ceiling at least 30 feet (9.1 m) high. Modern rackets are 70 cm long, with a maximum strung area of 500 square centimetres (approximately 75 square inches) and a mass between 90 and 200 grams (4–7 ounces). Singles and doubles are played on the same court. The walls and floor of the court are made of smooth stone or concrete and are generally dark in colour to contrast with the white ball. A player uses a 30.5-inch (77 cm) wooden racket, known as a bat, to hit a 1½-inch (38 mm) hard white ball weighing 1 ounce (28 g). As of September 2018, two companies produce rackets racquets, Grays of Cambridge (UK) and Gold Leaf Athletics (US).^[5]

A good stroke must touch the front wall above a 26.5 inches (67 cm) high wooden (often cloth-covered) board (also known as the 'telltale') before touching the floor. The ball may touch the side walls before reaching the front wall. The player returning a good stroke may play the ball on the volley, or after one bounce on the floor. The play is fast, and potentially dangerous. Lets (replayed points) are common, as the striker should not play the ball if doing so risks hitting another player with it. Matches preferably are observed by a "marker", who has the duty to call "Play" after each good stroke to denote that the ball is "up". Games are to 15 points, unless the game is tied at 13–all or 14–all, in which case the game can be "set" to 16 or 18 (in the case of 13–all) or to 15 or 17 (in the case of 14–all) at the option of the player first reaching 13 or 14. Only the server (hand-in) can score—the receiver (hand-out) who wins a rally becomes the server. Return of service can be extremely difficult, and, in North America, only one serve is allowed. Matches are typically best of five games.^{[citation needed]}

The main shots played are the volley, forehand and the backhand all similar to the way one plays these in squash; because the game of squash rackets (now known as "squash") began in the 19th century as an offshoot of rackets, the sports were similar in manner of play and rules. However, the rules and scoring in squash have evolved in the last hundred years or so. Rackets has changed little; the main difference today is that players are now allowed brief rest periods between games. In the past, leaving the court could mean forfeiting the match, so players kept spare rackets, shirts, and shoes in the gutter below the telltale on the front wall. The governing bodies are the Tennis and Rackets Association (UK) and the North American Racquets Association.^{[citation needed]}

List of courts in the United Kingdom

As of March 2021, there are 28 courts across fourteen major public schools, two armed forces locations, and three private clubs in the United Kingdom.

Both are one-court venues for use by members of the UK Armed Forces.

The number of courts at each club appear in parentheses.

List of courts overseas (all are North American)

As of August 2021, there are eight active courts in seven private clubs in North America:

• Racquet Club of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

• Boston Tennis and Racquet Club, Boston, Massachusetts
• Detroit Racquet Club, Detroit, Michigan
• Montreal Rackets Club, Montreal, Canada
• The New York Racquet and Tennis Club, New York, New York, male-only club
• The Racquet Club of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Tuxedo Park, NY, court is part of a large private gated community

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The Rackets World Championships for singles (and doubles) is decided in a challenge format. If the governing bodies accept the challenger's qualifications, he plays the reigning champion in a best of 14 games format (best of seven games on each side of the Atlantic). If each player wins seven games, the total point score is used as a tie breaker. The current singles champion is Tom Billings who defeated Alex Duncliffe-Vines in 2019. There will be another Challenge in November 2022 between Billings and the current World number 1 Ben Cawston.

The current Doubles world champions are Tom Billings and Richard Owen who defeated James Stout and Jonathan Larken in 2021, 5-1 at Queen’s and New York. In 2016 James Stout & Jonathan Larken, beat World Title holders, Alex Titchener-Barrett and Christian Portz in a two-legged challenge in November 2016. The first leg was played in London's Queen's Club, and was won by the challengers 4 games to 1. The second occurred in The New York Racquet's and Tennis Club, and was also won by the challengers 2 games to 1, reaching a two match aggregate of six games.

There are various tournaments that are hosted in North America and the UK.

These are:

In North America

• The Canadian Amateur Championships
• The US Amateur Championships
• The US Open
• The Western Open
• The Tuxedo Gold Rackets
• The North American Invitational Singles

In the UK

• The British Amateur Singles
• The British Amateur Doubles
• The British Open Singles
• The British Open Doubles (Separate tournament from Singles, played at a different time of year)
• The Invitational Singles
• The Manchester Gold Racket
• The National Schools Championship - Contested by players still at school in two tournaments, across 3 age groups, Singles and Doubles, both held at Queen's Club.
• The National Schools Girls Championship - Contested by players still at school in two tournaments, across 2 age groups, Singles and Doubles, both held at Queen's Club.

Organised on a challenge basis, the first champion in 1820 was Robert Mackay of England. All championships were closed court, except for an open court series, in 1860.^[6]

 

• Squires, Dick. The Other Racket Sports. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1978. ISBN 0-07-060532-7.
• Lord Aberdare. The JT Faber Book of Tennis and Rackets. London: Quiller Press, 2001. ISBN 1-899163-62-X.

• Tennis and Rackets Association
• McNeill, Ronald (1911). "Racquets" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). pp. 780–783.