Chang chimes up for new breed
Tennis great Michael Chang’s almost single-handedly inspired a new generation of Chinese to pick up a racket during his legendary career. Now, 14 years after the muchloved Chinese American’s quit laying, he continues to act as a force for the betterment of the game here.
Chang was a guest at this week’s China Open in Beijing on Tuesday, where he began a new ambassadorial role for tennis by hailing the “sensational” growth of the sport nationwide and vowing to promote it even more here.
At the same news conference, Change was officially announced as the 2018 global ambassador for the International Tennis Hall of Fame, 10 years after he was named a Hall of Famer in recognition of his tremendous play on the court and his winning personality, both on and off it.
The 1989 French Open champion, now coach of Japan’s world No 14 Kei Nishikori, said he has witnessed first-hand how tennis has gained in popularity in China over the last 30 years.
“I feel like it’s very fitting that we have this announcement actually here in Beijing,” said Chang. “I can recall playing here in Beijing in a much smaller venue. To see how tennis has grown tremendously over these years in and throughout China has been sensational.”
Chang told China Daily: “It’s a great honor to be named as the global ambassador of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. I feel like part of being a great tennis player is understanding the history. If you understand the history of something, especially tennis, I think you will have greater appreciation for the sport.
“For example, many of the young players now look up to Li Na. If you take a look at the history of her career, there are great things for young players to learn.”
Although the world’s biggest names of tennis, including Rafael Nadal, Karolina Pliskova and Simona Halep, are all competing in Beijing, China has still only produced one Grand Slam singles winner, the now-retired Li, so a new Chinese superstar would give tennis’ recent spurt here a timely shot in the arm.
“Now you’re seeing some of the biggest tournaments in the world being played in China,” said Chang. “And obviously a lot of smaller tournaments — challengers, futures — give opportunities for young Chinese players to not only play on the ATP or WTA tours, but also to be able to go out and be some of the best in the world.”
There is some hope on that count — Wu Yibing reached the semifinals in both the boys’ singles and doubles at this year’s Australian Open, and won both the boys’ singles and doubles at this year’s US Open.
However, Chang, who won 34 toplevel professional singles titles, including his only Slam at Roland Garros when he was 17, cautioned that Wu’s successful transition to the senior ranks is far from guaranteed.
“It’s important to have a great supporting team,” Chang told China Daily. “The support they (young players) receive, the guidance they get and coaching all play very important roles.
“Trying to find a balance between the training and the tournaments they play; making intelligent schedules — a lot of factors are contributing in helping a young player reach full potential.
“Obviously, Wu Yibing is off to a great start. He’s got a great game, and his future is looking very bright.”
Chang also believes having good role models is crucial to the game’s development in China, saying: “When young people can see the success of players out on tour, that gives them confidence and belief to say: ‘Hey, let’s try tennis and why can’t we be just as good?’.”