Trains, lakes and porpoises: Fun for all in Wuhan

The stars of the Hologic WTA Tour have been enjoying their return to Wuhan for the first time in five years off the court, too.

Gabriela Dabrowski, Daria Kasatkina, Marta Kostyuk, Erin Routliffe and Aryna Sabalenka were among the players who took time out from their preparations for the WTA 1000 the Dongfeng Voyah · Wuhan Open this week to explore some of the city's sights. 

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Sabalenka, who won the title in Wuhan in 2018 and 2019, says she loves the "great memories" and "good vibes" she feels in the city, and kicked off her tournament by visiting the East Lake -- one of the largest urban lakes in China.

Some of the most recognizable locales in Wuhan located in tourist areas near lake include two museums, one for history and the other for art; a botanical garden and aquarium; and the main campus of Wuhan University. 

On her tour, the tournament's top seed not only enjoyed the autumn scenery, but was treated to a dance performance and also played beach tennis with young, local athletes.

Nearby, Kasatkina and Kostyuk visited with native residents of a different sort: the Yangtze finless porpoise, which is endemic to China's nearly 4,000-mile long Yangtze River, the third-longest river in the world.

The species is critically endangered in the wild, where around 1,000 remain according to the World Wildlife Fund. But multiple reside at Wuhan's Baiji Aquarium, which is working to save the species -- and Kasatkina, as well as her partner Natalia Zabiiako, and Kostyuk were happy to meet some of the animals' famous smiling faces. 

Dabrowski and Routliffe's ride on the new Optics Valley Skyrail rounded out the experiences. Opened last year, the monorail is the first commercial sky train in China, and allows visitors a birds-eye view of the city below in its glass-floored cars.