Every November, Bradenton, Florida, USA, brings together tennis teenagers and their teams from all over the world – as the annual Adich International Junior Tennis Championships are held here.
As a youth tennis tournament with a long tradition, Addish has always been known for its top-level competitive standards, international line-ups, and future-oriented growth model. Over the years, more than 2,000 players from more than 90 countries and regions have appeared on the tournament roster, including Maria Sharapova, Andy Roddick, Elena Jankovic, Miomir Kecmanovic, Michael Mo, Whitney Oswewe, and many more.
In the early winter of 2023, three young Chinese players also appeared in the lineup. They are all from Shanghai Outsmart Tennis Club, Lu Hanyu (born on April 12, 2009), Ma Ruoxi born on November 15, 2008, and Lou Yitian born on May 27, 2011.
If you are familiar with Chinese youth tennis, you may not be unfamiliar with the names of Lu Hanyu and Ma Ruoxi. Although they have not yet appeared in the professional arena like Zhang Zhizhen, Wu Yixuan, Zheng Qinwen, Wang Xiyu, and Wang Xinyu, the two children have always taken them as role models, hoping that they can also embark on the same path of professional tennis in the future, and contribute to the development of Chinese tennis while realizing their personal dreams and values.
In August last year, they participated in the "Stubble Pressing Program" training camp held by the Chinese Tennis Association in Nanjing, and together with other friends, they were selected to go to the United States to train and compete. This year, with the support of the state, the two young players will once again train at the IMG Tennis Academy in the United States, this time for a full year.
The two children departed from Shanghai on September 14, Beijing time, and had been alone in the United States for nearly three months before joining Adich. This is the first time they have completely left their parents and coaches to live, study and Xi tennis in an unfamiliar environment. The biggest challenge for them is loneliness. But every time they feel sad and think of their dream of professional tennis, the two children will come up with a powerful force from the bottom of their hearts, convince themselves, wipe away their tears, and continue to pick up their rackets and go on the court.
I think the most difficult thing about coming to such an unfamiliar environment in the United States is to be self-disciplined and independent, such as controlling your diet, strengthening your Xi training, and taking the initiative to ask a coach for guidance in private, and you must be focused when training in the group. In this process, I will indeed feel lonely, and I will call my mother and father and talk to them. Of course, we also cry, which is really difficult, but it is also a problem that we have to face and learn to overcome them. ”
The 14-year-old Lu Hanwei has won the singles championship of the 2023 National Youth Tennis Tour CTJ-A1200 and A1600.
Coach Salty has given me a lot of support, not only technically, but also in life, mentally, etc. When he wasn't in the U.S., I used to think about him when I was training, when I thought about him feeding us and coaching us, and I really missed him. After he came to the United States, we all felt more grounded in our hearts. I've known him for 3 years, and the first time I went to the club, I was 11 years old, and I was scolded by him in the first training session because my movements and level were not up to his requirements. If I have made a little progress in the past 3 years, most of it is due to him. ”
Maroxi, who is a year older than Mr. Lu, says she is ready to take on challenges and embrace the future.
Personally, I think professional tennis requires 200 percent self-discipline and 200 percent hard work. Because professional tennis is a very difficult thing, the chances of success are relatively small. Yes, I'm ready for that. When asked what she understood about professional tennis and whether she would be brave enough to walk down the single-plank bridge, the 15-year-old answered categorically.
This year, she won the ITF Junior G60 singles championship and the YMCA doubles championship. When it comes to her style of play, she said that she is relatively well-rounded, and there can be a lot of opportunities for baseline attack after establishing an advantage on the serve, and when these advantages are more, you can put the small ball.
After leaving Shanghai to study Xi and training in the United States, the little girl said that her eyes were more opened, and she also learned a lot from contact and interaction with foreign friends of the same age. "For example, the aura is different, that is, the feeling you feel when you stand on the court, and the style of play they are more comprehensive, and the tactical thinking and ideas are not the same, you have to make yourself richer to fight against them. ”
Regarding seeing Coach Xian again in the United States after 3 months, she said that she felt "very down-to-earth".
I have been Xi practicing with Mr. Xian for more than two years, and the relationship is very good. He is a very responsible coach, he takes training very seriously, and will 'train us to death' hahaha. But he's not just strict, he's been really nice to us in other ways. I am very grateful to him for taking me to train, giving me all kinds of resources, taking me to competitions, giving me confidence and technical help. ”
At Adich, they and another teenager under Coach Xian, Lou Yi, joined the competition among the world's best junior tennis players.
Although he is only 12 years old, the young Lou Yitian has been playing for 4 years. He holds a racket in his right hand, has excellent game reading skills, likes to use his brain when playing, and formulates his own skills and tactics by observing the opponent's playing style and changes. Whether it's training or competing, he's full of passion and has a spirit of not admitting defeat.
It was with this spirit that he made it to the main draw of this year's U12 men's competition through four qualifying rounds. After winning the first round, he endured a hard-fought battle in the second round, beating second seed Anthony Kezina 5-8 to reach the round of 16. After winning multiple championships in the U12 age group in China, the Chinese teenager now hopes to compete in more international junior competitions to hone and improve himself.
Seeing the progress and achievements of several **, Xianhongluo, who has been accompanying them to grow up, is very gratified.
I haven't seen Lu Hanyu and Ma Ruoxi for almost 3 months, and they were a little shy at first, because they hadn't seen ......him for a long timeThere are some more intimate words, and the back is to talk a little more about skills, and the most they express is that they hope to improve faster, win more balls, and improve their rankings on the ITF as soon as possible, and develop towards higher tournaments such as the four Grand Slam junior development. ”
He said that the children are in good shape, mainly because they have become more fluent in English communication and communication in life, and they are more integrated with foreign teachers, friends and friends, and there is more communication, and the whole person is much more cheerful. And after more than two months of training at IMG Academy, their style of play has become more diversified, including hitting methods, techniques and tactics, and understanding of tennis.
As the head coach and founder of Shanghai Outsmart Tennis Club, Xian Hongluo served as the head coach of the "Stubble Pressing Plan" in 2022 and has rich experience in domestic and international exchanges for many years.
This time, I came back and saw some personnel changes, more excellent coaches, very good training partners, and players from different countries, different cultures, and different playing styles. It's great that our kids can communicate and mingle with them. Coaches who know me well always say 'welcome back' when they see me, they welcome me back, I feel very close to seeing them, and last year we were training and playing together and everyone was very happy. ”
In the process of accompanying the ** people to train and compete, he also met with Wu Yixuan and Shang Juncheng and had active and effective communication.
One day, we watched the training of small businessmen, and one day we finished a full 2-hour training session with his father, and also exchanged some information about the current situation of small businessmen, talking about how to choose competitions, cultivate personality, what choices to make from teenagers to professionals, etc., which helped us a lot. ”
He said that in the past few years, he has been coaching teenagers and has devoted more energy to the cultivation of reserve talents. At present, there are more than 300 players registered at the Outsmart Tennis Club, which has 13 full-size tennis courts, and hosts the Youth Elite Tennis Summer Camp every summer, as well as the CTJ-level junior national tournament. This experience has given him full confidence in the future of tennis in China, and he believes that with the advancement of time, more children will participate in tennis at a younger age.
Now more and more teenagers are getting involved, parents are very supportive of their children, and the children are becoming more motivated and driven, which is a very positive aspect. It is hoped that young players will come out earlier and go to other countries and regions in Asia, the United States, Europe, etc. to participate in different competitions and play against different opponents, which is very important for the accumulation of skills and tactics, their own cognition and their ability to read the game. Teenagers should play against different people and slowly find their own skills and tactics and their own way of tennis. “
Next, he will lead the three players Lu Hanyan, Ma Ruoxi and Lou Yitian to continue training at the IMG Tennis Academy for a period of time, preparing for another world-renowned junior tournament - the Orange Bowl, and looking forward to the opportunity for them to appear on a bigger stage and continue to shine together with more Chinese tennis teenagers in the future.