Athens Olympic women's tennis doubles champion | the original Golden Flower Sun Tiantian

Henan Daily client reporter Li Yue

What is the status of Chinese tennis at the turn of the century? Henan girl Sun Tiantian and her partner Li Ting had a profound experience in the 2003 Australian Open: when the two excitedly rushed to Melbourne to participate in the competition, they found that the organizing committee of the event did not count them among the contestants, and finally through hard work, Sun Tiantian and Li Ting participated in the women's doubles competition with a wild card. At the end of that year, Sun Tiantian and Li Ting were also named the most despised people of the year by the columnist of sports illustrated magazine in the United States.

Photo caption: Sun Tiantian and Li Ting won the Athens Olympic tennis women's doubles title.

A year later, in the Women's Doubles Tennis Tournament at the Athens Olympics, the most despised Chinese duo became the biggest dark horse, eliminating a number of winning favourites such as Serena Williams/Rubin and Suarez/Tarabini all the way to the final. Finally, on August 22, 2004, facing the powerful Spanish duo of Pasquier/Martinez, Sun Tiantian and Li Ting swept the opponent 6:3 to win the first Olympic gold medal in Chinese tennis. This Olympic gold medal has since opened a new starting point for Chinese tennis, and Sun Tiantian, a Henan girl who is the creator of history, has also been praised by many tennis enthusiasts as the first generation of Chinese tennis.

Looking back on her career, Sun Tiantian believes that what should be thanked most is the professional exploration of Chinese tennis. At that time, due to the heavy blow of Chinese tennis in the 2002 Busan Asian Games, the Chinese Tennis Association formulated a strategy of "focusing on women and taking doubles as a breakthrough" and began to prepare for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. It was in this environment that Sun Tiantian and Li Ting began to pair in 2002 and officially entered the WTA professional tennis world in 2003, with the main goal of obtaining enough points to participate in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

"From professional to professional, we who began to test the waters were completely crossing the river by feeling the stones. At that time, it was not easy to go abroad to compete, whether it was to apply for a visa, book a ticket or stay in a hotel. Sun Tiantian said that in order to earn enough Olympic points, she only spent less than two months in China in 2003, and most of the time she went around the world to play games.

Sun Tiantian, who has received professional training since childhood, has the biggest feeling in the face of professionalism is that players need to face many things independently. For example, you must work hard to learn English, understand the rules of the WTA, and even get used to flying drug tests from time to time. "Fortunately, with the help of the state at that time, we, the explorers of the professionalization of Chinese tennis, have broken out a road." Sun Tiantian believes that this rare experience has left her a valuable wealth that has benefited her so far.

After becoming an Olympic champion, Sun Tiantian also defeated the No. 9 seed Serena Williams in the second round of the 2005 China Open by 2:0 in two straight sets, becoming the first person in the Chinese women's tennis team to defeat Serena Williams. Later, at the 2008 Australian Open, Sun Tiantian partnered with Serbian doubles star Zemundzic to win the mixed doubles title, becoming the only Player in Chinese Tennis to combine the Olympic Games and Grand Slam championships.

After the 2009 National Games, Sun Tiantian chose to quit the professional tennis world and quickly completed the identity conversion. From assistant director of the Henan Provincial Table Tennis Network Center to deputy director of the Central Plains Tennis Center and director of the Zheng Net Competition Department, Sun Tiantian has devoted her main energy to promoting the development of tennis in her hometown. When Zhengzhou bid to host the WTAP700 top tournament in 2018, she also went to the WTA board as a representative of her hometown to make a presentation, and finally let the event fall in Henan, filling the gap in the top professional tennis tournament in the Central Plains.

Editor: Huang Hui