23-year-old Wu Yibing has become the first Chinese man to win an ATP Tour Title. Photo: Xinhua
Jin Yingying
Hangzhou-born tennis player Wu Yibing made a record in history as he was the first Chinese player who won an ATP Tour title, beating John Isner in a thrilling three-set final on the Dallas Open on Feb 12.
CNN commented, "Before him, no Chinese man had ever reached a tour-level final or defeated a top-10 opponent."
Wu's world ranking has risen to No 58 on Feb 13, making him the highest-ranked Chinese player in the ATP history.
Tennis talent eyes
on Hangzhou Asian Games
Born in 1999, Wu Yibing has demonstrated amazing tennis talent at a very young age.
He was selected to the Zhejiang tennis team when he was only eight years old, predicating his life as a professional player. He spent his primary school years in part-time training. Since middle and high school, Wu devoted himself to the sport to hone his skills.
Wu's talent soon became apparent on the international stage, with his emergence in the junior tennis tournament in 2016. In December of that year, Wu was the first Chinese player who had ever entered the finals of the prestigious Orange Bowl tournament, where he was named the runner-up.
In 2017, Wu's success continued to soar. He won a bronze medal in the men's singles and a silver medal in the team game at the 13th National Games. In the same year, Wu claimed the junior titles of both the men's singles and doubles at the US Open, solidifying his position as a rising star in the world of tennis.
In 2018, he won a silver medal in men's singles at the Asian Games in Jakarta.
In a recent interview after winning the ATP Tour championship, Wu expressed his ambition of winning a gold medal at the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games.
"Grown up in Hangzhou, to play games in my hometown adds an extra pressure. The unfortunate outcome of the previous Asian Games has only fueled my motivation to give 100% effort and dedication towards achieving success," said Wu.
More Hangzhou athletes to stand out
Hangzhou is home to a large number of renowned athletes. More young people from Hangzhou begin to shine in international arenas.
The National Squash Training team finished recruiting players for Hangzhou Asian Games on Feb 12. The recruiting process included various tests and assessments, such as basic physical fitness, special tests, and squash matches. At last, six male and four female athletes are selected to enter the team. Among them two are talented players, Zhang Guanyu and Zhou Penglin, both from Hangzhou, who have set their sights on representing China in the squash events at the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games, which have a total of five gold medals up for grabs.
Ding Hao, a mainstay of Hangzhou Branch of China Qi-Yuan, won the championship with a big score of 2-0 at the 27th LG Cup World Go King Tournament Sanfanqi finals on Feb 1. Ding became the 23rd world Go champion and the first post-2000 world champion.
Sports facilities being improved
Having a good infrastructure, it is not surprising that Hangzhou becomes home of future stars. The city has recently announced constructing 20 new embedded sports facilities, in a variety of urban spaces such as parks, waterfront areas, on roofs and on idle lands in communities.
These facilities will be open to the residents of the surrounding areas. All the venues are open to the public with free admissions or low prices.
One of the newly constructed facilities is the Hangzhou Basketball Park, the city's first embedded basketball park. It consists of ten embedded sports fields, including basketball courts, soccer fields, tennis courts, air volleyball courts, a roller skating area, and a 1,590 square-meter plastic running track. It also provides services such as an emergency clinic, a mini-library and an intelligent post house.
Another outstanding facility is the Fengcai Sports Park that is located along the sides of the Fangtangbu River and the east side of Youai Road. It is designed to provide a recreational area for residents of all ages. The sports field built on the rooftop of Gudun Road InCity, on the other hand, is designed to promote the participation of the young people in basketball and enrich the leisure of office workers in the surrounding communities.