Until recently, Chinese tennis had only a female face. Na Li was the runner-up in the world ranking and the winner of two Grand Slam titles. Two such triumphs in doubles were achieved by Shuai Peng, who was also the first racket in the world in this competition (14th in singles), . Currently, there are five Chinese singles in the Top 100, including two in the “20” area. Thanks to Yibing Wu, tennis from this country is finally starting to gain a masculine face.
Wu has already made history several times. He started at the 2022 US Open
The first Chinese in the Top100 of the ATP list had to wait until last fall, although it was not Wu who blazed the trail – Zhizhen Zhang preceded him. The 26-year-old has not yet managed to break even to “90”, and three years younger Wu is the 58th racket of the world from Monday. He also set several other historic feats for Chinese tennis – most of them thanks to last week’s success in Dallas.
Two of those achievements earned him a win over Taylor Fritz on Saturday. Thus, he became the first Chinese in the Open Era in the final of an ATP tournament and the first to defeat a player from the Top 10. However, he did not stop at eliminating the eighth tennis player in the world. A day later, he added a victory over another well-known American – after a fierce and exciting match he defeated John Isner 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (14-12). Thanks to this, on Monday he moved up the world list by 39 places and became the highest-ranked Chinese in history. And he made his debut in the top 100 just a week earlier.
The Middle Kingdom has long pinned hopes on Wu, which was confirmed by, among others, junior successes and a historic promotion to the third round of last year’s US Open. No singles player from this country has reached this stage in the New York event before, and in a Grand Slam event it took place previously at Wimbledon in 1946.
Wu did not immediately fall in love with tennis. Unique talent
The fact that Wu got into tennis at all is a coincidence. One of the articles on the ATP website stated that he had his first contact with a racket as a four-year-old, in several other places it was indicated that he was six years old at the time. The differences end there. Wu was sent by his father, a former boxer, to a track and field coach he knew. The goal was clear – the boy was to lose weight. The trainer referred him to the badminton group.
The net was too high and I couldn’t play. When we left that complex, it turned out that there was a court next to it. Here, the height of the net was no longer a problem – recalled Wu during the US Open 2022.
However, he immediately added that it was not love at first sight. Mainly because of how the training was and because he got a racket that was almost the size of himself.
– We had 15 people in the group and we practiced together. We hit the ball and ran in circles after we hit it because there were too many of us and not enough courts. This is my first tennis memory. I felt like a member of the cleaning crew, because waving a huge racket I probably swept all the leaves from the court – he said years later.
His talent, rapid progress and results in his teens caught the attention of national coaches, pundits and journalists.
“I didn’t think about it at the time because in the last 15 years I’ve seen too many ‘gifted kids’ who have achieved nothing. However, Wu has proven that he is exceptionally talented, admitted the respected tennis journalist Bendou Zhang.
In 2017 – as an 18-year-old – he won the junior US Open and became the first racket in the world in this age category. In the same season, together with his compatriot Di Wu, he played in the prestigious ATP tournament in Shanghai in doubles.
– In terms of understanding tennis, he was ahead of his peers. (…) As a teenager, he showed the potential of a future world-class player – recently recalled the 31-year-old Di Wu.
From 1869 in the ATP rankings to 58 in less than a year. Be like Kevin Durant
In the next edition of the event in Shanghai, Yibing Wu, as the 415th tennis player in the world, reached the second round. He lost a three-set match to the Japanese Kei Nishikori, then the 12th racket of the globe. Commentaries praised him and repeated that if he continues to develop like this, he can give the Chinese fans a lot of joy.
These predictions might have come true sooner had it not been for the haunting Wup bad luck. In March 2019, he broke into the Top300, but then – due to a series of health problems – he dropped out of competition for three years. He had problems with his elbow (he had surgery), lower back, shoulder and wrist. At the end of January last year, he returned for only one tournament – in the second round meeting he sprained his ankle.
He resumed for good at the end of April when he was 1749th in the ATP rankings. It had dropped to 1869th a few weeks earlier. The effective and regular rebuilding of the position is mainly due to successful performances in lower-rank tournaments – ATP challengers and ITF events. The aforementioned promotion to the third round of the US Open also had its impact, in which he lost to the Russian Daniil Medvedev, the then leader of the world list.
– I don’t think about the ranking. I want to enjoy every game I play. Every moment on the court. (…) If you play well, ranking points and even money will come. I’m not worried about that,” Wu said a few months ago in New York.
And recently in Dallas after the final, he admitted that he had many moments of doubt in the past. I had surgery and rehab was not going well. Took more time than it should have. I’d be lying if I said I was sure then that I would get to where I am now. But the most important thing here is the process. I trust myself and work hard. In the gym, on the court and beyond. I think about tennis all the time. I approach it now with more ease and fun than before – summed up the 23-year-old.
In Sunday’s final, he survived Isner’s traditional serve pressure (44 aces) and saved four match balls. The 37-year-old American found it hard to come to terms with the painful defeat, but praised his rival for his great composure. Di Wu also pointed out how well the Chinese cope with internal and external pressure. Yibing Wu himself explains that he has gone through a lot both in terms of health and life while growing up.
And Kevin Durant is his role model in terms of composure. The famous basketball player is his favorite athlete.
He’s very calm and doesn’t show much emotion. I want to be like him. I want to be a cool guy on the court. Less talk, less nonsense. You do your job in your own style. I think it’s great – convinces the tennis player, who relaxes cooking.
Model with a sense of humor. A modest celebration of a historic success
However, composure during the game does not mean that he lacks a sense of humor or distance. During the US Open, when one journalist claimed that Wu had become a revelation on Chinese social media, he joked: “Probably because I look so good.”
He also amused everyone when, after one of the matches in Dallas, the woman interviewing him mentioned that he had already done several photo shoots. The 23-year-old then put his hands behind his head in a characteristic model pose, looking with a smile towards his box. – I can look better. With hair done and makeup done, there’s always room for improvement here,” he said with a smile.
When, after the triumph, he became serious again, he recalled, among others, about a family he hasn’t seen in over a year. Due to the restrictions in force in China related to the COVID-19 pandemic, he is not allowed to return to his loved ones as often as he would like.
– I can see my parents or grandparents once a week, or twice in two weeks. They watch all my games, especially mum and grandpa. They even take notes! I couldn’t have done it without their support,” he said.
He sees the win in Dallas from a broader perspective, not just as his first title in his career. – It’s more about making history, including the history of my country. It’s a big thing for the next generation. As for me, I have to keep doing my job, keep my body healthy, and I’m sure more success will come.”
And how was he going to celebrate his success in life on Sunday? It turns out without fanfare. “Maybe I’ll have a beer and play some video games,” he said.
Source: Sport.PL
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
