Wuhan (simplified Chinese: 武汉; traditional Chinese: 武漢; pinyin: Wǔhàn [wùxân] ( listen)) is the capital of Hubei province, People's Republic of China, and is the most populous city in Central China. It lies at the east of the Jianghan Plain, and the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han rivers. Arising out of the conglomeration of three districts, Wuchang, Hankou, and Hanyang, Wuhan is known as "the nine provinces' leading thoroughfare"; it is a major transportation hub, with dozens of railways, roads and expressways passing through the city. Because of its key role in domestic transportation, Wuhan was sometimes referred to as the "Chicago of China." It is recognized as the political, economic, financial, cultural, educational and transportation center of central China. The city of Wuhan, first termed as such in 1927, has a population of 10,020,000 people (Census 2011), with about 6,434,373 residents in its urban area. In the 1920s, Wuhan was the national capital of a leftist Kuomintang (KMT) government led by Wang Jingwei in opposition to Chiang Kai-shek, as well as wartime capital in 1937.

Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on November 2, 2009. She is the only female player to have won over $35 million in prize money.

Her 27 Grand Slam titles places her ninth on the all-time list: 13 in singles, 12 in women's doubles, and 2 in mixed doubles. She is the most recent player, male or female, to have held all four Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously and only the fifth woman in history to do so. She was also the first woman, along with sister Venus Williams, to hold all four Grand Slam doubles titles simultaneously since Martina Hingis did so in 1998. Her 13 Grand Slam singles titles is sixth on the all-time list. Williams ranks fourth in Grand Slam women's singles titles won during the open era, behind Steffi Graf (22 titles) and Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova (18 titles each). She has won more Major titles in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles than any other active player, male or female.

Maria Yuryevna Sharapova (Russian: Мария Юрьевна Шарапова [mɐˈrʲijə ˈjurʲjɪvnə ʂɐˈrapəvə] ( listen), US: /ʃɑrəˈpoʊvə/, UK: /ʃærəˈpoʊvə/; born April 19, 1987) is a Russian professional tennis player and former world no. 1. A United States resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 26 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open. She has also won the year-end WTA Tour Championships in 2004. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked Sharapova world no. 1 in singles on four separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on August 22, 2005, and last regained the ranking for the fourth time on May 19, 2008. As of May 28, 2012, Sharapova is ranked world no. 2. She has been in six Grand Slam finals with the final record 3–3.

Sharapova made her professional breakthrough in 2004 at age 17, when she defeated two-time defending champion and top seed Serena Williams in the 2004 Wimbledon final for her first Grand Slam singles title. She entered the top 10 of the WTA Rankings with the win. Despite not winning a major in 2005, Sharapova briefly held the no. 1 ranking, and reached three Grand Slam semifinals, losing to the eventual champion each time. She won her second major at the 2006 US Open defeating then-world no. 1 Amélie Mauresmo in the semifinals and world no. 2 Justine Henin in the final.

Timea Bacsinszky (born 8 June 1989 in Lausanne, Switzerland) is a professional female tennis player residing in Belmont-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland. She joined the WTA Tour in 2004 and was ranked World No. 37 on 7 June 2010.

Her father, Igor, is a Hungarian tennis coach from Romania, her mother a dentist from Hungary. She has one brother, Daniel (music teacher) and two sisters, Sophie (musician and student) and Melinda (mother of two girls). Bacsinszky began playing tennis at age 3.

During Bacsinszky's junior career, she reached the semifinals of the 2004 Australian Open, losing to Shahar Pe'er, the 2004 French Open, losing to Mădălina Gojnea, and the 2005 Australian Open, losing to Hungarian Ágnes Szávay.

Her breakthrough professional tournament was the 2006 Zurich Open, qualifying and then defeating former Grand Slam champion Anastasia Myskina 6–3 6–3 and Italian Francesca Schiavone 6–1 ret. Her fairytale run in her native country was ended by former World Number One Maria Sharapova, but not without a fight, losing 4–6 3–6.

Alison Riske (born July 3, 1990) is a professional American tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 104, which she reached on May 9, 2011. Her career high in doubles is 199, which she reached on November 7, 2011.

The daughter of Al and Carol Riske, she first played tennis at the age of 3 years old after her dad took her out to hit. Her father worked in the secret service and later as an FBI investigator, while her mother was a school teacher, but both are now retired. Her sister, Sarah, is also a tennis player who played for Vanderbilt and had a brief professional career, reaching as high as No. 372. Her brother, Dan, played college tennis for West Liberty State, and is now an accountant.

Educated by the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, she played the fall of 2006 for Peters Township High School, where she led the girls' tennis team to the Pennsylvania State championship, and won the championship in singles. The following year, she won the USTA National Collegiate Clay Court Championship to earn a spot in the US Open qualifying draw, where she won her first match over Sorana Cîrstea before losing to Julie Ditty. She also won the ITA Summer Claycourt Championship and finished second at the USTA National Hardcourts that year. In early 2008, she earned the No. 1 ranking in her country in Girls 18s competition. She got her first taste of the professional circuit later that year, when she served as a hitting partner for the United States Fed Cup team in their semifinal against Russia.