Peng Shuai: Eyes Ahead

At the 2014 U.S. Open Tennis Championships, Chinese player Peng Shuai competed in the semi-finals of a Grand Slam tournament, the third Chinese female athlete to do so after Li Na and Zheng Jie.

As a professional tennis player for more than a decade, Peng has made the huge breakthrough into Grand Slam tennis, maturing from a talented newcomer to a seasoned player with an impressive record in both women’s singles and doubles. “For all those past events that have brought me to tears, after this one day I can talk about them with a smile,” Peng said during the post-match interview.    

“All great players have to endure adversity. Effort and diligence are essential qualities for athletes,” said her coach Ma Weikai. “It has not been easy for Peng Shuai to make it this far.”  

Peng Shuai reached the 2014 U.S. Open women’s singles semi-finals in New York.

China’s Rising Star

Since the first time she picked up a racquet and ball, Peng was regarded as a gifted girl. At the age of eight, she started to learn tennis from her uncle, a former player in the China National Tennis Team. Under her uncle’s guidance, Peng’s tennis skills improved rapidly. In 1996, aged 10, she won the national youth championships. Three years later, she became the champion of the International Tennis Federation’s junior tournament. Insiders believed that tall, skilled and strong Peng, bearing a striking resemblance to Western players in style and build, embodied great prospects for China’s tennis to go global.   

The talented player was soon recruited by the Tianjin Tennis Team. Later, the 13-year-old was sent to the U.S. for further training and spent a year at a tennis school founded by American tennis legend Chris Evert. “As a Chinese saying goes, newborn calves are not afraid of tigers. I just packed up and went to the U.S. armed only with an electronic dictionary,” said Peng, who had always dreamed of becoming a champion.   

At the age of 19, Peng reached the semi-final of the Sydney International after defeating ace opponents such as Anastasia Myskina and Nadia Petrova. In the same year, she again entered the top four in the Acura Classic after winning against famous players such as Kim Clijsters and Dinara Safina. Sponsored by IMG, a global leader in sports, fashion and media, Peng became China’s first female player jointly promoted by the Chinese Tennis Association (CTA) and an overseas brokerage agency to compete in the international professional tennis arena. The official Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) website described the 19-year-old as “China’s rising star.”  

Never Give Up

Peng’s journey to the top has not been problem-free. Because she did not take the women’s singles crown at the 2005 National Games, her sponsor, Tianjin Sports Bureau, withdrew their investment. Unable to pay her coaches’ wages Peng was effectively benched. She could only join the national team for competitions, but worse still, lost her personal technical coach and fitness coach.