China The New Hotbed

[TCF]

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[SoCal10s]

Originally Posted by TCF

From what he told me, the more affluent kids are populating the tennis training. And you think American kids have attitudes? He said nothing compares to the arrogance of a kid raised by the 'new money' Chinese parents. The tennis coaches are their toys.

So if people are thinking either very hungry kids like the Serbian or poorer Russians, or a government brutal system like the Chinese gymnastics, that is not what is happening with Chinese tennis.

true that .. Chinese money arrogance has gone way overboard in everything ....
spoiled brats kids ...

[Chemist]

Originally Posted by andfor

I was kidding as I thought Brad's post may have been tongue in cheek. Not saying the Chinese are doping their tennis players but they have doped other athletes in the past, that's all. Would not put anything past the Chinese government.

Regarding your experts comments, would those be the same experts who early on in the Baseball PED's conspiracy, said PED's in baseball did not make a difference for the same reason? They contended PED's really just helped primarily with injury recovery.

Yes, doping was a problem in swimming, weight lifting and distance running, in China as well as in other countries. Tennis is just a very unique sport. Justine Henin beat so many bigger and much more powerful women.

[TCF]

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[schang70]

My brother in law lives in Shanghai. According to him tennis is still regarded as an elite sport in China. There is only something like 30,000 tennis courts in China versus 270,000 in the US with quadruple the population. The average folks are not gonna be able to afford to play tennis in China much less train at the elite level.

My 7 year old daughter is going to be spending this summer in Shanghai. I am looking for a reputable tennis academy for her to train at this summer. I've found a couple on Google but don't know if they are any good. Let me know if anybody have any info on tennis clubs/academies in Shanghai.

[Chemist]

Originally Posted by TCF

From what he told me, the more affluent kids are populating the tennis training. And you think American kids have attitudes? He said nothing compares to the arrogance of a kid raised by the 'new money' Chinese parents. The tennis coaches are their toys.

So if people are thinking either very hungry kids like the Serbian or poorer Russians, or a government brutal system like the Chinese gymnastics, that is not what is happening with Chinese tennis.

These rich kids play tennis and golf because these are rich people's sports. The parents may hire a full time tennis coach as their baby sitter. It's the major tennis schools in Wuhan, Sichuan, Tianjin that have developed Li Na, Zheng Jie, and Peng Shuai are really serious in training kids. They are hiring the best tennis coaches. I believe they recruited most of their kids from families that are struggling economically. These kids won't be less hungry than those in Russia and Eastern EU, because their life and perhaps their families' life depend on their future success.

[10istalent]

My daughter trained with a boy from china who is here to become a pro. The mom said there are few choices and competition is too strong to get the top pros attention in china. Here she buys the time and gets what she wants. She is of new money where she says that her son will never have to get a job so she will do whatever it takes to reach her sons dream. She spends $700/day on tennis!

[TCF]

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[Soianka]

Originally Posted by 10istalent

My daughter trained with a boy from china who is here to become a pro. The mom said there are few choices and competition is too strong to get the top pros attention in china. Here she buys the time and gets what she wants. She is of new money where she says that her son will never have to get a job so she will do whatever it takes to reach her sons dream. She spends $700/day on tennis!

$700/day? Is he hitting with gold plated tennis balls?

[Chemist]

Originally Posted by TCF

If you read the Talent Code, these little hotbeds come and go all the time. The Belgians thought they had the women's market with Henin and Clijsters and that was about it for the dominance of that country, the Russians with Spartak, etc. The odds are these 3 successful Chinese women will be the peak of the 'invasion' which will never materialize.

The coach I talked with at length on Monday sees nothing about recruiting all these poor kids for tennis. I think I will trust him since he is closely involved.

Wikipedia of Li Na, Zheng Jie and Peng Shuai show the parents of these ladies were not considered poor. They were far from being considered rich either. I guess I was reading too much about the stories of Olympic medalists, many of them are from poor families. So, I was likely wrong in assuming the same for these most successful women tennis players and the juniors that are training hard. However, I am confident that Li Na won't be the last Chinese woman to win a grand slam, so long as tennis remains an Olympic sport.

[Chemist]

Originally Posted by Soianka

$700/day? Is he hitting with gold plated tennis balls?

Tennis academy: $50,000/year that is $137/day
Private school: $40,000/year that is $110/day - assuming that the kid is still attending school
Rent a house: $3,000/month that is $100/day
Private lesson: $500/day
Travel to tournaments around the world: $50,000/year that $137/day
....

This may add up to $1,000/day

[Soianka]

Originally Posted by Chemist

Tennis academy: $50,000/year that is $137/day
Private school: $40,000/year that is $110/day - assuming that the kid is still attending school
Rent a house: $3,000/month that is $100/day
Private lesson: $500/day
Travel to tournaments around the world: $50,000/year that $137/day
....

This may add up to $1,000/day

Those aren't just tennis expenses.

It's just hard to imagine tennis expenses alone for a junior player could add up to $700/day.

What a waste of money.

[SoCal10s]

Originally Posted by Soianka

Those aren't just tennis expenses.

It's just hard to imagine tennis expenses alone for a junior player could add up to $700/day.

What a waste of money.

those who are super rich have money to burn... find out how much POLO cost to do.. or even golf...

[Chemist]

Originally Posted by Soianka

Those aren't just tennis expenses.

It's just hard to imagine tennis expenses alone for a junior player could add up to $700/day.

What a waste of money.

There may only be 1-2 kids like this. Not many families can afford to spend $250,000 a year on their kid, knowing that the chance of becoming another Li Na would be less than 0.000000000001%.

I personally know a Chinese boy who is training in the same center as my son. The dad works in China, while the mom lives in US with their son. They bought a house that would cost over $500,000. The boy attended a youth tennis school in China for several years. He hits beautifully in practices, taking probably 4-5 privates a week. However, he is 0-22 against any boys of 2 stars and better in the past 12 months.

[10istalent]

The $700 breakdown is as this: 4 hour privates ($150x4=$600), 1 hour fitness trainer $100. We live in NY, where everything is expensive.

[10istalent]

That is 4 hour of private lessons everyday!

[Number1Coach]

Originally Posted by TCF

If you read the Talent Code, these little hotbeds come and go all the time. The Belgians thought they had the women's market with Henin and Clijsters and that was about it for the dominance of that country, the Russians with Spartak, etc. The odds are these 3 successful Chinese women will be the peak of the 'invasion' which will never materialize.

The coach I talked with at length on Monday sees nothing about recruiting all these poor kids for tennis. I think I will trust him since he is closely involved.

TCF remember a couple of years ago there were a few on here making a big deal about the Spanish way of teaching and that they had the best system and clay courts were the best way of teaching, I said it all comes in cycles ? I personally dont see the next wave of Spanish coming up to dominate and it looks a little like the US women are having a little surge but will see , I am just looking for the next cycle .

[Number1Coach]

Originally Posted by Chemist

Are you implying that these Chinese ladies used PED to win tennis matches? I recalled that only one guy got caught for using PED a few years ago. Experts would likely point out that tennis is not about the speed and strength, you win with skills, control, mental toughness, endurance, flexibility... Who is the most famous cheater, a guy named Lance!

Going back to GA's prediction that Chinese women will dominate tennis in 10 years. I am not sure how one defies dominance. I would say it's possible that in a few years, 10 women with Chinese surnames would be ranked top 100. These ladies could be produced in China, Taiwan or US (like Grace Min or Claire Liu?). More top tennis coaches will be hired to train youth in China and some promising juniors may even get trained in academies in US or EU. However, the only sport that China has dominated and will continue to dominate is table tennis.

Poor Lance to bad he didn't look like Bonds he would get a pass !

[Bash and Crash]

Originally Posted by Soianka

$700/day? Is he hitting with gold plated tennis balls?

Holy mother load!!! That pro is loving it, and the parents are just plain $tupid. But if you got and want to chase the dream money is no object. I predict we never hear of this kid in the future.

[Soianka]

Originally Posted by 10istalent

The $700 breakdown is as this: 4 hour privates ($150x4=$600), 1 hour fitness trainer $100. We live in NY, where everything is expensive.

They'd be better off just hiring a full-time private tennis coach like Emira Stafford's father did.