btsjungkook
Professional
Just imagine it, a Chinese number 1 being good at tennis and dominating other players. Wouldn't that cause more money and viewers for tennis?
If Wu Yibing becomes a world number 1 and wins a lot of slams, would tennis become more popular?
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Rosstour
G.O.A.T.
He'll be off the tour in 18-24 months with a lingering, chronic lower body injury. You heard it here first
socallefty
G.O.A.T.
Weirdly specific prediction. Did you stick a needle in a voodoo doll of him?
socallefty
G.O.A.T.
More viewers in China. Maybe doesn’t move the fan interest needle in the US.
Rosstour
G.O.A.T.
Show me a male East Asian player who didn't have lower back/leg/foot issues that eventually cost him his career. We can do basketball too.
I can't say why it happens, only that I see a pattern
socallefty
G.O.A.T.
Have there been many that were good that got derailed by lower body injuries? I remember only Hyeon Chung who had back issues. Nishikori had a long, successful career. Who else are you referring to?
Razer
Legend
Truth be told, it is impossible for east asians & people from Indian subcontinent to "dominate" Tennis.
If they can win a slam or 2 then it will be a big achivement, but dominate? That ain't happening. Reason is this game is suited for tall people, this suits europeans, americans and even australians because people are tall in these places, someone like Nadal at 6'1 would come across as very tall in India/China but would be average in europe. These things matter. While Nadal is the gold standard in athleticism because at a so called "average" height his body is densely and properly built, someone of that height in India/China would be a servebot or tall by their standards, so if you need a properly built athlete from that region then his height would be between 5'8 to 5'10, that is NIshikori's height. Doesn't make the cut, if Nishikori was 6'2 or 6'3 with his same built then he might have been a dominating force. Height matters, built matters.
If they can win a slam or 2 then it will be a big achivement, but dominate? That ain't happening. Reason is this game is suited for tall people, this suits europeans, americans and even australians because people are tall in these places, someone like Nadal at 6'1 would come across as very tall in India/China but would be average in europe. These things matter. While Nadal is the gold standard in athleticism because at a so called "average" height his body is densely and properly built, someone of that height in India/China would be a servebot or tall by their standards, so if you need a properly built athlete from that region then his height would be between 5'8 to 5'10, that is NIshikori's height. Doesn't make the cut, if Nishikori was 6'2 or 6'3 with his same built then he might have been a dominating force. Height matters, built matters.
Rosstour
G.O.A.T.
Chung - back
Chang - broke his hip hitting a ball at 17, leg cramps, etc
Nishikori - are you serious? lol
Srichipan - wrist from tennis, then broken knee/arms from motorcycle accident, never came back in one piece
Yao - feet
Lin - everything
Yi - everything
Ummm this guy is tall.
Shohei Ohtani - Los Angeles Dodgers Designated Hitter - ESPN
View the profile of Los Angeles Dodgers Designated Hitter Shohei Ohtani on ESPN. Get the latest news, live stats and game highlights.
Rosstour
G.O.A.T.
You're generalizing too much
Yao was 7'8"...Yi was 7'0", Lin was 6'3"
Japanese athletes have been a lot shorter, in some parts of China dudes are giants
Razer
Legend
Giants do exist, there are people who are 7 feet tall in asia, quite a few of them. Does that mean they will be able to play Tennis and slide like Novak ? The chances of a 6'2 guy like Novak emerging from Serbia/Spain is a LOT HIGHER than from China because that is how the genetics are (for now.. until it evolves in 50-70 years).
You'll find Basketball players from these regions because Giants can easily fit into that, I am not denying, but you won't find a Tennis player 6'2 and capable of being like Rafa/Novak/Roger, I bet you.
Rosstour
G.O.A.T.
Do you remember Srichipan?
6'1" and slid/split all over the court. He was pretty much the only guy to do that before Novak IIRC
The problem isn't size for East Asian players, it's injuries. For whatever reason
The are like 1.5 billion people in China man. There are plenty over 6 ft tall lol.
socallefty
G.O.A.T.
In the US, schools have tennis teams and it is not just an individual sport for kids. In places like India and China, other sports like cricket, football, field hockey (in India), table tennis (in China) have school teams while tennis is a private sport that you play in private clubs. So, the glamor sports for kids are those where you can play on your school team. Plus, there are hardly any public courts to attract players from families who don’t belong to private clubs.
I am 6’1 and while I spent a lot of time playing tennis and badminton at private clubs as a kid in India, my favorite sports were cricket and football where I could play for my school teams and so, I never took tennis too seriously till I was an adult in the US where there are public courts everywhere.
I am 6’1 and while I spent a lot of time playing tennis and badminton at private clubs as a kid in India, my favorite sports were cricket and football where I could play for my school teams and so, I never took tennis too seriously till I was an adult in the US where there are public courts everywhere.
Razer
Legend
And why do you think people get injured ? Because they lack durability. Why they lack durability? Because their bodies are working beyond its operating capacity, people like Novak or Roger can emerge from their countries because average height there is 5'10+, but in China average height is 5'6, so athletes like that if they emerge from china it would be 3 inches shorter than Novak/Roger, no wonder Nishikori the perfect athlete from Japan for Tennis is 5'10.
Yes there would be plenty above 6'0 but most of them won't be like Roger/Rafa in athleticism, not even close.
Maybe in a few decades chinese athletes of that caliber in Tennis will emerge, but not too soon. These days Tennis is a tall man's game, look at Tsitsipas, he is 6'4, Felix is 6'3-6'4 and he moves so amazing, can athletes like that emerge from china? Not yet IMO. But China have talents in many other sports, thats why they do well in Olympics.
I see no reason why athletes like that cant emerge from China. Look man Shohei Ohtani is 6'4 210 pounds and is an amazing athlete. Yea he's from Japan but the dude is a monster. And one of the best baseball players in the world.
Razer
Legend
Yes, maybe he is the first of his kind. He is born in mid 1990s, so that means in the gen after him that is growing up now more athletes might come like him, that is evolution. Thats why I said, in a few decades more athletes like that could come, but not immediately from China/India. Will take time.
Hes not one of a kind. This guy plays in MLB as well
Yu Darvish Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News
Yu Darvish Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News
www.mlb.com
He is 6'5 220.
onehandbh
G.O.A.T.
Jeremy Lin got derailed by Carmelo Anthony's jealousy.
This guy who broke the Japanese home run record last year is 6'2 and 215
Murakami,Munetaka（Tokyo Yakult Swallows） | Players
Nippon Professional Baseball Organization Official WebSite
npb.jp
onehandbh
G.O.A.T.
Have you ever visited Shanghai? or northern parts of China?
There are a billion people in China. Plenty are tall and athletic, but... sports are not as much of a priority for many living there.
There might be more guys over 6' tall in China than the ENTIRE adult male population of some European countries.
onehandbh
G.O.A.T.
How many years did Leandes Paes play?
Razer
Legend
This guy who broke the Japanese home run record last year is 6'2 and 215
Murakami,Munetaka（Tokyo Yakult Swallows） | Players
Nippon Professional Baseball Organization Official WebSite
Yeah, I guess there are many sumo wrestlers as well Japan in the very tall category. I guess Japan has more potential than China which might have more athletic potential than India. I mean the odds of a japanese 6'2 Novak is still higher significantly than other regions.
Crocodile
G.O.A.T.
I think having number one players coming from all over the world including China, India and Africa would be a positive thing. Most of us here would like to see tennis do well everywhere and inspire kids to love and play tennis. Seeing players emerge from different regions and countries could open up new ideas with coaching methods, athlete development and also promote cultural awareness and friendship.
What we do have to realise is that there is always going to be some element of uniqueness in each countries favourite pastimes, You only have to look at how different say the US is to Australia. Australians have sports like AFL, Cricket and Rugby League, whereas in the US you guys are big on American Football, Baseball and Basketball where’s the Chinese love table tennis, badminton snd gymnastics which is good,
What we do have to realise is that there is always going to be some element of uniqueness in each countries favourite pastimes, You only have to look at how different say the US is to Australia. Australians have sports like AFL, Cricket and Rugby League, whereas in the US you guys are big on American Football, Baseball and Basketball where’s the Chinese love table tennis, badminton snd gymnastics which is good,
Tennfan123
Legend
It needs to be more accessible.
TheNachoMan
Legend
Bit racist bro.
Rosstour
G.O.A.T.
Maybe initially but dude he could not stay healthy even on other teams
I quoted my post above. I specified East Asian male players
Rafa4LifeEver
G.O.A.T.
Definitely.
Rafa4LifeEver
G.O.A.T.
Their genetics are not meant for this I guess.
Rosstour
G.O.A.T.
That's why I'm not trying to get into the WHY, just that I've observed a pattern. If you can think of exceptions let them fly
btsjungkook
Professional
Asians are the craze right now, look at Bts, they're so popular. Imagine if a Korean, Chinese, or a Japanese player start doing great things on the tour. People are bound to watch sports even more. The views will be very high as Asians dominating Western sports isn't a usual thing.
jm1980
Talk Tennis Guru
Uh, Nishikori?
jm1980
Talk Tennis Guru
Lol, Nadal is not 6'1"
Also, Indians and East Asians have a very different genetic makeup. Despite the geographical proximity, they were all separated by difficult and mountainous terrain
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Hawks9451
Semi-Pro
Popping for PEDs?
Rosstour
G.O.A.T.
The guy's TTW nickname is literally Injukori
Tell me where he is now, what was the last injury he had, and how he fixed it
tennis24x7
Professional
And I will be travelling to watch those slams in my own G5
jm1980
Talk Tennis Guru
He had hip surgery last year, and was planning on coming back this year
Still, he was in the top 10 for 3 straight years (Sep 2014-Aug 2017), and then again for a whole year (2018-19)
tennis24x7
Professional
Same in India too.
socallefty
G.O.A.T.
According to data on this link, the average height of men in the US is 177 cm and in China is 175 cm. If you just look at Northern China where people are much taller than in Southern China, I bet the average is much higher. I agree with the poster that there might be more people over six foot in China than most European countries combined just because of the huge population.
www.worlddata.info
I don’t think height is the reason why we don’t see more tennis stars from China. It is just not a popular sport.
Average height for men and women worldwide
How tall is a human? Height and weight for men and women in an international comparison
www.worlddata.info
I don’t think height is the reason why we don’t see more tennis stars from China. It is just not a popular sport.
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tennis24x7
Professional
6'1" is not very tall in India, China maybe. There are tons of people who are 6'2" in India. Nadal is a freak due to his uncles genes. The problem is nutrition in India/China, court access and finances. Once the finances improve you sill see a lot more athletes from India/China. Laver was not tall and Wavrinka is certainly not tall and the latest craze Alcaraz is barely 5' 10".
kevin qmto
Hall of Fame
Technically a motorcycle injury ended Paradorn Srichapan’s career, though a wrist injury had hampered him in his last couple years on tour.
Razer
Legend
6'0 is considered tall in India, the average height is 5'8 or so. Previously it was 5'6 around 2 decades ago, now it has increased to 5'8 ish. Nutrition and height are correlated in some ways.
Rosstour
G.O.A.T.
All that is true but I don't think it disproves my point
I think I went into that, no?
Musterrific
Hall of Fame
Who cares?
Holmes
Hall of Fame
The Interplanetary Masters controlling the alignment of the planets to drive things - you know, the REAL masters of the world - would see to it that he's healed.
slipgrip93
Professional
hmm, I hadn't seen a match of Wu Yibing's but his height listed at 183cm is presumably a good height for atp tennis. He'd have to start beating more top 10 as Alcaraz did to get more traction. And china isn't exactly a popular country to the rest of the world now with recent events and how their regime is run and they also terrorize a lot of the rest of 'free' eastern and southeastern asia. I liked Nishioka's gameplay, but dang, he's even shorter than Michael Chang was. The past asian players of this modern century had unfortunate, former promise of career affecting lingering injuries , but so do some examples of western and european players, such as Del Potro and Thiem.
jm1980
Talk Tennis Guru
Nishioka is such an unlikable character
I mean, sheesh, get over yourself, you are not even half the player Nishikori is
johnmccabe
Hall of Fame
His stories are wild
Um?
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