February 13, (THEWILL) – In a historic moment for Chinese tennis, Wu Yibing, has become the first player from China to win an ATP Tour title.
The 23-year-old defeated American, John Isner, in the Dallas Open final, in a match that lasted just under three hours. Wu’s victory elevated him from number 97 in the ATP rankings to world number 58, making him the highest-ranked Chinese player in ATP history.
Wu, who had been away from the tour for almost three years due to a string of injuries, made an impressive comeback in the Dallas Open, eliminating top seed Taylor Fritz and Canada’s third seed Denis Kapovalov en route to the final. In his maiden tour-level final, Wu saved four championship points on the brink of defeat to overcome Isner in a nail-biting match.
After the match, Isner praised Wu’s performance and predicted a “bright” future for the young Chinese player in the sport. Isner pledged to donate $100 to the Isner Family Foundation for each ace he hit during the tournament, and ended up raising $13,800 for needy children in the Dallas area after hitting 138 aces.
Wu laughed about the 44 aces Isner hit against him in the final, saying, “It’s a good thing he has this $100 thing, this makes more kids happy.” The victory in Dallas marks a significant milestone for Wu and for Chinese tennis, and fans can look forward to more exciting achievements from this talented player.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
