A tennis academy in Beijing featuring foreign expertise and a universal, professional system may be on the verge of producing China’s future Grand Slam winner.
Li Na fascinated the crowd at the 2016 Australian Open earlier this week, and memories of her two Grand Slam trophies have spurred China's search for a successor, according to China Daily. Li acquired her first singles titles during the 2011 French Open before following up with a win at the 2014 Australian Open, after which a chronic knee injury ended her career.
Although the absence of a high-ranking replacement is evident in the adult category, young talents honed at 1123 Junior Academy in Beijing have emerged at the 2016 Australian Open. Under the leadership of Coach Sergio Sabadello, four women, including International Tennis Federation junior event winner Cao Siqi and world junior No. 14 Zheng Wushuang, will face off the world's best in the Open girls competition. The tournament commences on Saturday, Jan. 23, in Melbourne.
21-year-old Wang Yafan, another young academy talent, qualified for the Open's main draw for the first time after winning three qualifying matches in a row.
Yi Ping, the founder of the academy, is optimistic in the power of her individualized system because of the surge of Chinese youth at the high profile tournament.
Yi said, "Tennis is a global sport, so the most important thing is to offer young talent foreign expertise and exposure in a professional way."
The latest move for Yi was to employ Sabadello, an experienced coach who runs the Vilas Tennis Academy in Mallorca, Spain. The academy has produced many high-ranking professional stars including 14-time major winner Rafael Nadal.
Sabadello has taken over the academy's operations since her arrival in November. She handles technical training, tactics, tournament planning and logistics support.
The coach said: "My job is to bring them the concepts and work to prepare them for professional tours, not only junior tours. They are at a high level in juniors. Now they have to take the next step, which is important to their routines and habits as professional players. My objective is to lead these players to win at the Australian Open junior tournament."
Seven promising talents, all girls under the age of 18, have joined the academy to train under Sabadello. The crew also includes two Chinese assistant coaches, support staff skilled in nutrition and logistics, and a fitness trainer.