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National tennis fever: Chinese stellar players and enthusiasts drive sport to new heights
en.hangzhou.com.cn 2024-10-22 14:51 Source: Global Times
Professional heights
Amid the overwhelming enthusiasm fans have for these tournaments, Chinese players have been making waves with remarkable performances, which industry insiders say are the major contributors to the fan fever.
Similar to the surprise achievement of Li Ting and Sun Tiantian's gold medal in the women's doubles at the 2004 Athens Olympics, or Li Na's sensational two Grand Slam singles titles in 2011 and 2014, Chinese tennis players have entered a new phase of achieving new breakthroughs.
In men's competitions, at the ATP 250 Chengdu Open, 19-year-old Shang Juncheng claimed his first ATP Tour title, becoming the first male tennis player in the world born after 2005 to win an ATP Tour award.
At the ATP 250 Hangzhou Open, Zhang Zhizhen, the first male player from the Chinese mainland to be seeded in a Grand Slam event at the Wimbledon Championship, and 22-year-old Bu Yunchaokete made history by setting up an all-Chinese semifinal - an unprecedented moment for Chinese men's tennis.
At the China Open, Bu reached the semifinals by stunning world No.6 Alexander Zverev, setting a new benchmark for Chinese male players at the tournament since 2004.
The run also launched him into the top 100 in the ATP rankings. Along with Zhang Zhizhen and Shang, 2024 marks the first time three Chinese male players have been included in the ATP top 100.
Zheng, too, reached her career-best semifinals at the event. By the time the Wuhan Open rolled around, Zheng and Wang Xinyu had both made it to the semifinals, a historic moment for Chinese tennis.
In the women's competitions, though Zheng ultimately lost to Sabalenka in the Wuhan Open final, she did win her first set against the formidable opponent after four meetings in her career, signaling the hope that she is closer to her mission of conquering the "mountain" that is Sabalenka.
Olympic laureate Zheng, in her third professional season, is set to make her debut at the WTA Finals after a strong presence in Beijing and Wuhan.
She is the second Chinese singles player to achieve the feat after Li Na. But what is more promising is that Li Na's debut in the WTA came in 2011, three years before her retirement, while Zheng is just 22 years old.
"Zheng is driving tennis to new heights in the country, transforming it into a sport that garners widespread public attention. This shift is significant," Chen Chi, a Beijing-based tennis commentator, told the Global Times.
"Along with her runner-up finish at the Australian Open earlier this year, Chinese fans are convinced that a Grand Slam title is just a matter of time for Zheng."
Ge Xiaoqian, a tennis columnist, noted to the Global Times that the current tennis momentum was not only catapulted by individual efforts like Zheng's, but also systematic efforts that led to the emergence of Bu, who was born in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region but grew up playing tennis in coastal Zhejiang Province.
Author: Lu Wenao and Wu Jie Editor: Ye Lijiao
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