History for China, injuries, video games: Everything you always wanted to know about Wu Yibing (but never had time to find out) – updated with UTS Los Angeles win
Wu Yibing is the first Chinese player to ever claim an ATP title, and the highest-ranked Chinese man in ATP history. Find out more about the rising talent.
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Who is Wu Yibing?
Wu Yibing is a trail-blazing player on the ATP Tour. He was the first Chinese man to win an ATP Tour title and has been ranked higher than any man in Chinese history.
What did Wu Yibing achieve at the Dallas Open and at UTS Los Angeles in 2023?
At the Dallas Open in 2023, Wu Yibing became the first man from China to win a singles title on the ATP Tour. Wu beat Denis Shapovalov, Taylor Fritz and, in the final, John Isner, to make history. Until then, no Chinese man had been beyond the semi-finals of a tournament, and that was back in 1995.
Wu Yibing took part in the fifth edition of UTS, – UTS5 held in Los Angeles, in July 2023. He won his first Group A match against Benoit “The Rebel” Paire, before losing his second group match to Taylor “The Hotshot” Fritz.
He went on to win UTS Los Angeles, first beating Ben “The Mountain” Shelton in the semi-finals, before recovering from 2-0 down to beat Taylor “The Hotshot” Fritz in his native LA to win a maiden UTS crown.
Why did Wu miss nearly three seasons, from 2019 to 2022?
Wu suffered a litany of injuries, and did not compete from March of 2019 to December of 2021. He dealt with elbow, back, shoulder and wrist injuries and underwent elbow surgery in 2020.
What is Wu’s highest ranking?
Wu climbed to a career-high ranking of 55 in the world on April 10, 2023. He is the highest-ranked male player in Chinese tennis history.
Is Wu a model?
You won’t find the word “model” written on Wu’s tax return, but he does get a kick out of posing for the camera when he gets the chance.
What is one of Wu’s favourite hobbies?
Wu loves to play video games. He says that video games actually help his hand-eye coordination, but he doesn’t think kids should follow his example.
What is Wu’s best shot?
His forehand is absolutely lethal, but he also has a surprisingly big serve for his size, and a very versatile backhand. But it is the forehand that makes most tennis aficionados swoon.
What was Wu ranked in March of 2022?
Wu’s ranking had dipped to 1869 on March 21st, 2022. He has risen over 1,800 spots since then (as of May 10, 2023).
Who is Wu’s favourite athlete?
Wu is an admirer of NBA star Kevin Durant.
“When I first watched the NBA, I think that was the 2011-2012 season,” he told ATPTour.com. “That’s when Westbrook, Harden and Durant played on the Thunder and they made the finals that year and lost to LeBron [James]… That is my first memory of NBA basketball.”
What did Wu achieve at the 2022 US Open?
At the 2022 US Open, 22-year-old Wu became the first man from China in 63 years to win a main draw match at a major. He would go on to reach the third round before falling to Daniil Medvedev.
Was Wu a good junior?
At the 2017 US Open, 17-year-old Wu became the first boy from China ever to win a major title at the junior level.
