Yibing Wu smashes Chinese tennis records at the US Open, causing a stir in China and the tennis world ahead of his third-round match against Daniil Medvedev.
Extensive training was in for Yibing Wu on Thursday new York not to think. The Chinese had worked tennis for almost four hours the day before, fought tennis against Nuno Borges and turned a 1: 2 set deficit. Lots of experience with marathons, he hadn’t; it was only his second duel over the longest distance in tennis.
Double security during the interview
So the Chinese tournament surprise took it easy on Thursday: Wu initially cheered on his Chinese compatriot Quinwen Zheng, Jule Niemeier’s third round opponent, on outdoor court 13 at noon and then had the physiotherapist work on him for an hour. Before leaving the facility, he then went to the side of his agent from IMG and a Chinese representative from ATP for a brief chat with the sports show in the Media Garden.
A kind of double guard for a short conversation is not standard procedure; this is more likely to apply to the absolute top stars. But those responsible have been taking a closer look at players from the Middle Kingdom since Peng Shuai suddenly went into hiding after her allegations of rape against a high-ranking politician from the Communist Party nine months ago.
Huge marketing opportunities
In any case, thanks to Yibing Wu, China is now writing positive headlines in the tennis world, at least in terms of sport. The 22-year-old from Hangzhou, the capital of the Chinese province of Zhejiang in the east of the country, is no stranger to the tennis bubble: in 2017 he won the US Open for juniors in singles and doubles – as the first player in his country ever.
IMG soon signed the top talent, the marketing opportunities for a Chinese in a globally played sport like tennis are enormous. But shoulder and arm injuries slowed Wu down. He was after the US Open wasn’t physically ready as a junior, says Wu self-critically. “I wanted to achieve my goals too quickly. I made mistakes in tournament selection, played too much and didn’t listen to my body when it needed rest.”
Then came the pandemic and the very, very strict travel restrictions in his country. The impatient talent could only serve nationally for two years and fell out of the top 1,000 in the world rankings. At the beginning of 2022, he was transitional with his Argentine coach Gerado Azcurra to the recognized academy Bradenton in Florida.
“There aren’t enough international tournaments in China, so we stayed here”, says Wu. Because of the Peng Shuai cause, the women’s tour WTA has withdrawn from China. The men’s ATP tour also canceled four tournaments – officially for pandemic reasons.
“I just look good”
Wu already won three in 2022 challengerstournaments and fought through the qualification of new York and rose to become the first Chinese singles winner at the US Open after beating seeded Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvilli. At one of the other three Grand Slams sports historians have to go back to the post-war year 1946 to find a Chinese in Kho Sin-Khie in the result lists of Wimbledon to find.
Chinese tennis player Yibing Wu at the US Open.
In China, meanwhile, attention is growing rapidly for Wu. On the prominent social platforms we chat and Weibo, the search term Yibing Wu has been trending for days. “I just look good, I guess”Wu commented with a laugh after his match against Nuno Borges.
Chinese women successful
The women of China have been recognized contenders in the extended world elite for more than a decade. Five players are currently part of the top 80. In new York There are four players in the third round, although none are considered co-favorites for the title. Li Na won two in 2011 and 2014 grand slamtournaments.
She not only maximized exposure and sponsorship, but also, much to the chagrin of political leaders, criticized China’s communist sports system, most notably the choice of how long a talented athlete wants to go to school.
“It has always been a problem in China to choose between school and tennis”, says Yibing Wu in an interview with the sports show. He was 14 or 15 when his family decided with him to leave school and focus on tennis. His mother told him: “Either you do something completely or not at all.” How voluntary this decision was at the time remains open.
First laurels in Zhejiang Province
As in every sport in China, sports promotion in tennis is also carried out by the state. It is screened and centralized locally, in the respective province and then nationally. The best players receive early financial compensation and do not have to worry about travel expenses. Conversely, not so long ago it was normal for the passport to end up in the hands of the coach or person in charge, tennis coach Mark Gellard, who works in China, wrote in a 2018 text in “Tennis View Magazine“.
Yibing Wu earned great laurels for the Zhejiang Province tennis team early on, including at the “Chinese National Games“. They were a good school to start with “Print” to get along, said the Chinese on Thursday.
On Friday in the night session Yibing Wu can play freely against the top seeded defending champion Daniil Medvedev. He clearly sees himself as an outsider, but also knows about his winning streak, which has increased to 17 after a minor tournament win, successful qualification and two main round wins. For the youngsters but it’s not rocket science: “There are no secrets in the tennis world. It’s like the jungle. If you don’t eat someone, someone will eat you. It’s that simple.”