Tennis
Young aces still have a way to go
(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-08-12 09:47
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Lack of success in Challenger event raises concerns about youngsters' progress
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 Zhang Shuai (left), world No 99, and Han Xinyun, ranked 170th, are the leaders of the new generation of Chinese women's tennis. But their potential has been cast in doubt after a lack of achievement in recent major international tournaments. [China Daily] |
BEIJING - The lackluster performances of China's young female tennis players at the just-concluded Beijing International Challenger tournament have raised concerns about their ability to take the baton from their older compatriots.
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Boasting $150,000 in prize money and two wild cards into China Open qualification in late October for the singles champions, the Challenger, the first of its kind in China, was seen as the perfect launching pad for China's young guns to advance to bigger events.
"Although they are all young girls about 20, there's little time for them to grow on the tennis court. They have to win as many points as soon as possible to open the door to big events in this crucial year," said Fu Zhong, head coach of the women's national team.
Zhang's loss in the capital city was another major disappointment for the overwhelming title favorite at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) event. Since she shot to fame at last year's China Open, where she upset then-world 1 Dinara Safina of Russia in the second round as a wild card, she has struggled.
Zhang squandered a 4-0 lead in the first set and then lost the second set in quick fashion. She said she was distracted by questionable calls and noisy Japanese fans in the stands during the final.
"It indeed affected me," Zhang said of a close call in the first-set tiebreak. "The game was close and I couldn't calm down so I lost several points,"
Labeled as China's next queen of the courts after Li Na and Zheng Jie, Zhang excited local fans early in her career by winning nine ITF circuit titles in 2006 and 2007. However, her performances on the highly competitive WTA tour and at Grand Slam events have been poor. She has only reached the main draw of a Grand Slam twice - the 2008 US Open and 2010 French Open - and fell at the first hurdle both times.
She has also never advanced beyond the second round of any WTA tour event except during her dream run at the China Open last year.
"They (the young players) are able to play a few good matches, but they can't maintain consistency on the tour," Fu said.
After losing in singles event, Zhang managed to pick herself up and win the doubles title with compatriot Sun Shengnan.
So far, Zhang has captured 14 ITF singles championships and six doubles crowns.
"I have to improve my serve and regain my strength to prepare for the US Open series. And hopefully, I can break into the top 80 (at the end of this year)," said Zhang, who broke into the world top 100 for the first time after sweeping South Korean Lee Jin-A in the semifinals of the Challenger.
The 20-year-old Han, who entered the world top 150 in May but has since slipped to 170 before the Challenger, is another young player with potential who failed to live up to expectations in Beijing.
Like Zhang, Han is struggling to climb up the world rankings.
"We need more matches to gain points and improve our rankings. If we break into the top 150 or even 100, most of the WTA Tour and Grand Slam events will be open for us to play, and that will be an easy way to improve ourselves," said Han, who played her first main draw match in a Grand Slam at January's Australian Open.
Fu said the new generation has a long way to go to catch up with their seniors , who are led by Grand Slam semifinalists Li and Zheng.
Li, at the age of 18, won the first WTA Tour title for China in the women's doubles, teaming up with Li Ting in 2000, while Zheng reached the last 16 of the French Open at 21. Meanwhile, 19-year-old Peng Shuai finished her first top-50 season with two semifinal appearances on the WTA Tour in Sydney and San Diego in 2005.
"We have better facilities and more support than those veterans did, so we have to push ourselves, train harder and play more games to get to that level," Han said.