I'm a professional tennis player. Ask me anything!

[jasonjung]

Hi guys!

My name's Jason Jung. I'm a Taiwanese-American ATP player currently ranked #211 in the world. I reached my career-high ranking of #194 in April after a few good weeks on the tour (won a Futures and reached my first Challenger final in Leon, Mexico). A friend of mine recently told me about the Tennis Warehouse community and about how the members are really passionate about discussing anything tennis related. He suggested that I join for fun and see if anyone would like to gain some insight into a pro player's life firsthand (also mentioned that Filip Peliwo had a pretty popular AMA thread on here a while ago). Well here I am! Feel free to ask me anything! I'll do my best to respond to as many questions as I can during my downtime. The tour life can get a little lonely at times haha.

A little more background info about myself:

I grew up Torrance, CA, played juniors in SoCal and college tennis at the University of Michigan (Class of 2011). I decided to pursue pro tennis in 2012 and have been working hard to rise up in the rankings ever since. I just got back from playing in the French Open qualies where I won my first round match. The next few weeks, I'll be playing a few grass court challengers in the UK before I head over to Wimbledon to play the qualies and hopefully make it the main draw. Fingers crossed!

Also, I have a blog that I occasionally update to keep my friends and family about my experiences on the tour:
https://jasonjungtennis.wordpress.com/


Excited to interact with you guys,

-JJ

 

[Homeboy Hotel]

Welcome Jason, very kind of you you to donate your time.

This post is reserved till I think of a good question

 

[tacou]

What are the talent gaps like between juniors, futures, and challengers?

 

[Mainad]

Hi Jason. Thanks and welcome!

What do you consider your strong and weak points as a player?

Also what is your favourite Grand Slam tournament?

 

[batz]

This is so cool - thanks for walking among mere mortals.

My question - who is the highest ranked player you have beaten to date? Thanks.

 

[ultradr]

Did you train in West End or Rolling Hills? Torrance. I used to play at these clubs 2001-2007ish.

You played Hyeon Chung. What do you think of him?

 

[Deleted member 733170]

Which active player do you admire the most and why?

Which historical player do you admire the most and why?

Good luck for the rest of the year!

 

[RF-18]

Who is your tennis Idol and why? have you met him yet if so?

Thanks for taking time.

 

[jm1980]

This is so cool - thanks for walking among mere mortals.

My question - who is the highest ranked player you have beaten to date? Thanks.

That's easy:

2014 Busan CH R32 - Jung [Q] def. #89 Lukas Lacko [1], 3-6 7-6(4) 5-1 RET (looks like a dick move by Lacko retiring down 1-5)
2015 Morelos CH R32 - Jung def. #141 Austin Krajicek [7], 5-7 6-3 6-4 (for a completed match)

 

[Coolio]

Most have probably not watched you before so here is some excellent footage to watch: Jung vs Fritz https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AIYH9mcJps

:Jung vs Kreuger https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfbc_qXRBoA


What is your workout routine during a tournament? How much on court practice/ gym/ stretching etc.

What is your workout routine when you have a week off for training in preparation for a tournament? On-court practice hours? Gym hours and workout regime? How do you break up training the body, Upper/Lower/Core or how do you split it? Injury prevention? Types of Exercises?

I know this is a lot of detail. Would love to find out the details of a pro's physical preparation to help me improve my own tennis! Thanks

 

[Gary Duane]

Jason Jung, I hope you can ignore fanatics and trolls. There are a lot of them here. But some good people too.

I suppose my only question would be about surviving financially. To me being ranked close to the top 200 in the world is amazing, but most people do not think about what it is to be 211 in a world with billions of people.

How do you make enough money to keep going? It seems so hard to win enough if you are not way WAY up in the rankings.

 

[jm1980]

How do you make enough money to keep going? It seems so hard to win enough if you are not way WAY up in the rankings.

Very good question. He's earned ~$70k in prize money since 2008 (and that's taxed!). I don't know how players below Top 200 cope with expenses.

 

[big ted]

What are the talent gaps like between juniors, futures, and challengers?

i kind of like this question too and wonder why some players can dominate the juniors but struggle in the pros? is it physical? fitness? lack of mental toughness? lack of a weapon (serve or forehand?)

also what kind of things do you work on to try to improve on a daily basis? i know its a general question, but... do you still try to tweak your strokes? try to get stronger? fitness? everything? etc...

thanks!

 

[heftylefty]

Thanks for entertaining questions. I have just a couple of questions:

What do you hit with and are you sponsored?

 

[jm1980]

i kind of like this question too and wonder why some players can dominate the juniors but struggle in the pros? is it physical? fitness? lack of mental toughness? lack of a weapon (serve or forehand?)

I think a big part of this is the huge disparity between juniors when it comes to physical development. Players who develop faster will dominate juniors, but then they are in for a rude awakening in the pro tour when they no longer have that advantage.

 

[Anaconda]

Hi guys!

My name's Jason Jung. I'm a Taiwanese-American ATP player currently ranked #211 in the world. I reached my career-high ranking of #194 in April after a few good weeks on the tour (won a Futures and reached my first Challenger final in Leon, Mexico). A friend of mine recently told me about the Tennis Warehouse community and about how the members are really passionate about discussing anything tennis related. He suggested that I join for fun and see if anyone would like to gain some insight into a pro player's life firsthand (also mentioned that Filip Peliwo had a pretty popular AMA thread on here a while ago). Well here I am! Feel free to ask me anything! I'll do my best to respond to as many questions as I can during my downtime. The tour life can get a little lonely at times haha.

A little more background info about myself:

I grew up Torrance, CA, played juniors in SoCal and college tennis at the University of Michigan (Class of 2011). I decided to pursue pro tennis in 2012 and have been working hard to rise up in the rankings ever since. I just got back from playing in the French Open qualies where I won my first round match. The next few weeks, I'll be playing a few grass court challengers in the UK before I head over to Wimbledon to play the qualies and hopefully make it the main draw. Fingers crossed!

Also, I have a blog that I occasionally update to keep my friends and family about my experiences on the tour:
https://jasonjungtennis.wordpress.com/


Excited to interact with you guys,

-JJ

Once you come into contact with FedRulz,TMF, or 90's clay, the excitement will probably fade. Welcome OP. I hope you don't get trolled.

 

[Deleted member 733170]

I think a big part of this is the huge disparity between juniors when it comes to physical development. Players who develop faster will dominate juniors, but then they are in for a rude awakening in the pro tour when they no longer have that advantage.

Jim1980, maybe let Jason get back to us please.

 

[spinovic]

Jim1980, maybe let Jason get back to us please.

No question from me.

I would just like to wish you good luck in your upcoming attempt to qualify for the Wimbledon main draw.

 

[jm1980]

Jim1980, maybe let Jason get back to us please.

Jason, what's your favorite surface?

 

[stringertom]

First page almost complete and not a poast from SoBad??? Amazing!

 

[2ndServe]

Good luck, what have been your favorite cities to visit?

 

[Slice'n'dice]

This is interesting, will have to keep half an eye out for you in qualifiers and what not.

Can't really think of any good questions that haven't been asked, but I will return when I think of one.

 

[Dedans Penthouse]

Welcome jasonjung!

First page almost complete and not a poast from SoBad??? Amazing!

Pssssst, forget SoBad for a minute…….…….guy's ranked #211………..you think he could get a game off LeeD?

 

[Gonzalito17]

Cool. I read the story about you and Evan King grinding it out in dubs last year, good to see you are making good progress.

My question, you obviously have strong belief that you can make it significantly higher in the ranks. What is the basis for your belief? Were there some particular matches against known players where you felt/realized you have what it takes?

Because it's interesting that an under the radar player like you would continue to grind and forge ahead.

Best wishes to you on your journey to the top hundred ... and beyond. TW is behind you a hundred percent. Look forward to reading ALL of your replies to this thread and following your progress.

 

[Deleted member 733170]

A further thought Jason, out of those players ranked between 100-250, who in the age group 18-22, would you tip to make a run into the top 50 in the year to eighteen months ahead? (besides your good self of course )

 

[heninfan99]

How particular are you about your racquets?
Do you have custom shaped handles and other tweaks?
How many sticks do you take to a match?
Thanks

 

[Sander001]

Hi guys!

My name's Jason Jung. I'm a Taiwanese-American ATP player currently ranked #211 in the world. I reached my career-high ranking of #194 in April after a few good weeks on the tour (won a Futures and reached my first Challenger final in Leon, Mexico). A friend of mine recently told me about the Tennis Warehouse community and about how the members are really passionate about discussing anything tennis related. He suggested that I join for fun and see if anyone would like to gain some insight into a pro player's life firsthand (also mentioned that Filip Peliwo had a pretty popular AMA thread on here a while ago). Well here I am! Feel free to ask me anything! I'll do my best to respond to as many questions as I can during my downtime. The tour life can get a little lonely at times haha.

A little more background info about myself:

I grew up Torrance, CA, played juniors in SoCal and college tennis at the University of Michigan (Class of 2011). I decided to pursue pro tennis in 2012 and have been working hard to rise up in the rankings ever since. I just got back from playing in the French Open qualies where I won my first round match. The next few weeks, I'll be playing a few grass court challengers in the UK before I head over to Wimbledon to play the qualies and hopefully make it the main draw. Fingers crossed!

Also, I have a blog that I occasionally update to keep my friends and family about my experiences on the tour:
https://jasonjungtennis.wordpress.com/


Excited to interact with you guys,

-JJ

Hello! Can you talk about the on court and off court pressures of a touring pro? Just at first glance, you seem to be handling things better than many of your peers, what's your secret?

 

[RyanRF]

25 y/o, 5'10", 150 lbs? 4 years older and even smaller than Peliwo. I'm sorry to inform you that your future in tennis looks bleak, and you should start exploring other avenues.

wow.


Actually, I'm kinda surprised this thread had 27 decent posts before the first a--hole showed up.

 

[Aussie Darcy]

I think that's so nice for a pro to post on here. Kudos to you and I wish you luck in future tournaments, will definitely follow your results and hope you have some good wins

 

[wangs78]

After all these questions - I suspect Jason may have decided to never return to this board again.

J/k - would be great to see Jason's answers to these questions. My question for Jason. Typically, at what age does it become apparent that a young player has some serious talent where it becomes worthwhile to really invest in serious tennis lessons/training?

 

[The Green Mile]

That's cool for a pro player to do. Welcome!

Don't have any questions for you. Plenty already in this thread. Be wary of a poster named SoBad though!

 

[bjsnider]

One piece of advice I can give you Jason is, don't pay any attention to the insults and crap that will get tossed at you in this forum. It's hard enough making a living at pro tennis without having to worry about this place.

 

[chjtennis]

Nice to meet you, Jason. Warm welcome to you! I hope you enjoy this forum. Just one small advice, try to avoid engaging into a 'discussion' on certain topics otherwise you'll waste a lot of your time which should be used for your training! It's really nice to have some who is actually on tour!

 

[chjtennis]

25 y/o, 5'10", 150 lbs? 4 years older and even smaller than Peliwo. I'm sorry to inform you that your future in tennis looks bleak, and you should start exploring other avenues.

I would like to inform you that you can put an a*s like this on your ignore list.

 

[VexlanderPrime]

Thanks for posting Jason, great thread!

 

[tennisaddict]

Jason, Welcome. It may be a surprise for you. But I have followed your blog and also have seen live streams of your match , including the recent challenger finals against Rajeev Ram at Mexico.

I found your blog pretty entertaining and that made me follow your matches as well.

The pictures during your Taiwan visits, the quips about food and massage were interesting.

What is your opinion about coaching ? How far can a super coach like Edberg or Annacone can take a 200 ranked player ?

 

[radtennisfan]

I give you mad respect for being top 200. Think about that, you are one of the best 200 people in a planet of 7 billion at something. Really an amazing accomplishment.

Looking forward to your updates!

 

[SoBad]

Hi guys!

My name's Jason Jung. I'm a Taiwanese-American ATP player currently ranked #211 in the world. I reached my career-high ranking of #194 in April after a few good weeks on the tour (won a Futures and reached my first Challenger final in Leon, Mexico). A friend of mine recently told me about the Tennis Warehouse community and about how the members are really passionate about discussing anything tennis related. He suggested that I join for fun and see if anyone would like to gain some insight into a pro player's life firsthand (also mentioned that Filip Peliwo had a pretty popular AMA thread on here a while ago). Well here I am! Feel free to ask me anything! I'll do my best to respond to as many questions as I can during my downtime. The tour life can get a little lonely at times haha.

A little more background info about myself:

I grew up Torrance, CA, played juniors in SoCal and college tennis at the University of Michigan (Class of 2011). I decided to pursue pro tennis in 2012 and have been working hard to rise up in the rankings ever since. I just got back from playing in the French Open qualies where I won my first round match. The next few weeks, I'll be playing a few grass court challengers in the UK before I head over to Wimbledon to play the qualies and hopefully make it the main draw. Fingers crossed!

Also, I have a blog that I occasionally update to keep my friends and family about my experiences on the tour:
https://jasonjungtennis.wordpress.com/


Excited to interact with you guys,

-JJ

jasonjung,

Welcome to the forums and I am sure you will enjoy your time here. People around here are indeed passionate about tennis topics, the Taiwanese-American culture runs deeper here than one might imagine, and the rare bad apples whose minds may have been altered by various substances over the years tend to be obvious to an astute mind.

As some may have mentioned, I once had a friend who was engaged in discussions about funding for talented upstarts, leg hair, etc., at one time, and there was some controversy and your name may have come up in the discussion among others, but it’s all long in the past. Retractions and apologies were issued and there are no outstanding issues at present.

Everyone seems to have been excited about your recent success and there appears to be a consensus that you are not only a talented tennis player, but also an excellent writer, modern technology communicator, and a handsome man. We all wish you continued success.

SoBad

 

[Chopin]

Nice to have a real player on the boards.

 

[sureshs]

Jason, can you beat LeeD who posts here?

 

[citybert]

Where do you practice in between tournaments some of places that the challengers are held are very expensive to get court time

 

[watungga]

1. What materials (and weights) you put inside the racquet buttcap?

2. From 1 to 10 grip strength level, where 10 is the forehand grip during impact, what is the grip-level during takeback prior to launch a forehand strike? Let's say a scenario of 16-return rallies at the heat of the match.

 

[gut wax]

One Question:

Years from now, when you look back on your Grand Slam Titles and a host of other memories, will you remember us?

In other seriousness, best wishes to you on your journey to #1.

 

[6august]

Welcome Jason. Nice to see you here.

I have some questions:

It seems that you're sponsored by Babolat. How many racquets they provide you each year?

Besides racquets, strings, bags... do they pay any extra money for you?

 

[stringertom]

Can you give us a layman's explanation of your theory of neurosis???

 

[G A S]

I can say for one I never expected a pro would come around here like this with me being a member of the forum, even if it had already happened with peliwo, I was not a member back then. I was not even a lurker of this forum.

-my question is regarding the intercontinental travels, it is always by airplane... what if a pro does not like airplanes? he is kind of doomed and will have to accept it or give up?
-you started playing tennis very young right? hehe
-do you always have a translator? traveling through all these countries only knowing english might be difficult, right?
- what about a passport? does being a tennis player make it easier to travel in all the countries? I mean, is it common for problems in a passport to prevent a player from playing?

 

[Murrayjuannow]

If you ever come to the DownUnder you're welcome to stay at my place, use the court and the pool.

 

[mad dog1]

Jason, very cool of you to drop by! i watched your match against Alex Sarkissian last year in Irvine and was disappointed that you lost. Had you won, my wife and i would have returned on Sunday to watch the final. Anyways, glad to see you've had some great results this year and hope you can continue improving!

 

[jasonjung]

What are the talent gaps like between juniors, futures, and challengers?

I think from a talent standpoint the gap is pretty small. There are so many good juniors out there that can strike the ball well. But I think the gap is quite far between juniors and Pros b/c of the physical part of the game. The game has definitely changed into a physical one and I think the majority of juniors just aren't there yet.

 

[Midaso240]

Did you ever meet Eddie Adams in Torrance?