In the first two days of the Billie Jean King Cup, China has won consecutive victories over Chinese Taipei and India. Zheng Qinwen contributed three sets 6-0, Wang Xinyu gained a border herding "little fan", and the Chinese women's tennis national team regained its long-lost sense of relaxation. If the Chinese women's tennis team has made breakthroughs on clay in the past, now it has more confidence and confidence in the clay event.
This is Zheng Qinwen's first time playing on clay in China, and it is also the first time that the Chinese team has chosen the home court of the Billie Jean King Cup on clay. For the few women's tennis girls who have returned to China to play, this arrangement is convenient for several people to prepare for the WTA clay season, and seamlessly connect to clay tournaments, including the French Open.
Zheng Qinwen, who contributed to the winning streak, admitted that the intensity of the competition was not enough, and she would call the team to practice after the competition for two days. In the post-match interview, Zheng was still not satisfied with his performance. "Today my opponent's serve was slower, so I had more time to play an attacking game. Even though I played two 6-0s today, I still had some small fluctuations in the second set, and there were some ups and downs throughout the match. Zheng Qinwen said, "In these two games, the opponent's speed is not fast, compared to the tour, the opponent's ball speed and rhythm in the future will definitely be faster, I still need to be ready for the next tour." ”
From Wang Xinyu to Zheng Qinwen, as well as Wang Xiyu and Guo Hanyu, who won their first doubles victory, they are all full of confidence in the clay match, and such confidence and confidence are the manifestations of the progress of Chinese tennis. Although Zheng Jie reached the round of 16 for the first time as early as the 2004 French Open, and Li Na lifted the first Grand Slam title of an Asian player at Roland Garros in 2011, the previous generation of Jinhua talked about clay matches with strangeness and discomfort. The victory of the Chinese women's tennis on clay is more of a breakthrough than a norm.
Today, the Chinese women's tennis national team can be described as strong, and many people are recognized as good clay players. Zheng Qinwen has been training on clay in Spain since he was a child, and his first title came on clay, and Wang Xinyu won her first Grand Slam doubles title at the 2023 French Open. Compared with the growth path of the previous generation of Chinese Jinhua on hard courts, more Chinese Xiaohua today "grew up" on clay courts, which also enhances the confidence of this generation of Chinese teams to choose clay as their home court.
It is worth noting that the atmosphere of this generation of national teams is much more professional and relaxed. Young players have a strong sense of honor and mission, and see it as their responsibility to represent their country, and the national team is responsible for providing professional services. Zheng Qinwen returned to China to participate in the war, and all the team trips such as coach Pereriba and physical fitness divisions, and the accommodation, accommodation and training are guaranteed by the national team, which solves the worries of professional players.
In terms of management, the humanization of the national team makes the players feel comfortable. "I think it's good to work with my teammates and teams in the national team. Zheng Qinwen introduced, "There are no hard and fast rules for the national team, what must be done together." Everyone controls their own time, does therapy, and prepares themselves for the game. In this way, you can give full play to your strength. ”
From the fear of clay to the choice of clay court, this is the progress of Chinese tennis, and it also shows the popularity and success of tennis in China. After training and playing on the clay courts on Moon Island in Changsha, Wang Xinyu was impressed by the quality of the court. "The clay court here feels soft, and it feels quite similar to the French Open court. I've heard that the pitch here is built to French Open court standards and is of good quality. Wang Xinyu said. The breakthroughs made by Chinese tennis are based on the progress of tennis software and hardware in China.
Text/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Chu Peng
Editor/Wang Fan