Winner in 5 sets of the Portuguese Nuno Borges, Wu Yibing entered the history of tennis by pushing the doors of the 3rd round of the US Open, registering as the first Chinese to reach this stage of the competition in the US Open (since 1881) singles.
"
No Chinese had reached the third round of a Grand Slam tournament since Wimbledon in 1946
," recalls the ATP website.
All smiles, he could at a press conference have fun with the sudden curiosity he aroused: "
I must be a good-looking boy...
" Before emphasizing: "
I'm happy to write history, but the most important thing is is to bring hope to all Chinese fans and children: we can have great players in our country,
which should have been the case for a long time.
»
To discover
US Open: men's schedule
US Open: ladies' schedule
Wu Yibing came to tennis by chance.
To encourage him to do some exercise and lose some weight, his father, a boxer, entrusts him to an athletic trainer who directs him to badminton.
The net too pushes him towards the nearby tennis court.
The apprenticeship will be long.
Before his qualities jumped out at adolescence, especially his speed.
After the junior titles at the US Open in 2017 (singles and doubles), Wu Yibing, world No. 1 in the category saw his progress (he had joined the Top 300) blocked by injuries (elbow, lower back, shoulder and wrist) and the Covid-19 pandemic.
He was deprived of international competitions between March 2019 and January 2022. He started the year in 1122nd place in the world, was 1869th in March before patiently climbing the ladder (35 wins and 4 losses in 2022), including titles on the challengers tournaments of Indianapolis, Rome and Orlando.
At 22, he is in 174th place.
Before meeting Daniil Medvedev, on the night of Friday to Saturday, he assures not to ignite after his successes against the Georgian Nicoloz Basilashvili (seeded n ° 31) and the Portuguese Borges: "
Ranking is just one thing.
If you play well, the points and even the money will come.
I am not worried about this.
»
Coming from qualifying (he beat Corentin Moutet 7-6, 6-2 in the last round), Wu Yibing, right-handed, with a two-handed backhand, embodies the beginnings of a country's ambition (only two Chinese were, in qualifying, registered for the US Open), illustrated by the emerging talent of Juncheng Shang (17-year-old left-hander, 202nd in the world, youngest player in the Top 500, coached by Marcelo Rios, the former world n°1) .
A few years after the success of Na Li (winner of Roland-Garros 2011 and the Australian Open 2014).
Wu Yibing will have, facing Medvedev, after the attraction Serena Williams, the honors of the Arthur Ashe court and the prestigious night session.
The step is probably too high for his game and his physique still under construction but whatever the outcome of the meeting, Wu Yibing will be the discovery of this US Open.
A player and a country to follow.