Opinion | Why China tennis teen Wu Yibing has what it takes to make a Li Na-style impact
The 17-year-old US Open junior champion has all the goods to make it to the top on and off the court, say those in the know
Wu Yibing won the US Open juniors singles and doubles titles last weekend, a feat that received 43 seconds of coverage on Xinwen Lianbo, China’s flagship news programme.
That may not sound like much, but is actually whopping according to an article on web portal Sina: basketball star Yao Ming’s retirement only got 53 seconds and the only individual sporting success to get more than a minute in recent memory was Li Na’s French Open win.
It’s not just CCTV paying attention: Wu, 18 next month, is the first mainland Chinese player to win a junior grand slam; the ATP, plus major sports brands and marketing companies, will be desperate for him to star at senior level.
Since Li retired, Chinese tennis has had no high-profile player to attract fans and sponsors. No Chinese man has ever broken the top 100; that’s Wu’s immediate goal and those in the know say he has what it takes.
Success at junior slams is no guarantee of senior success: legend Stefan Edberg won all four in 1983 but since then only four male junior slam winners have won a senior major: Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, Andy Murray and Marin Cilic.
