When Caroline Wozniacki first came to Hong Kong in 2007 she brought her parents along to handle her affairs and arrived with the sort of wide-eyed expectations that usually accompany a player ranked 231st in the world.
At 16 years old, then, the Dane had the world before her, a talent untested on the senior tour but a young lady who was ready to throw herself into the fray.
Three years can seem to pass by in a flash and while Wozniacki returns to town this week sounding like she remains pretty much that very same person, results over the past 12 months show she is a much, much different player - and the life that swirls around her has changed along the way.
Those parents - Piotr and Anna - will no doubt be here watching this week at Victoria Park as Wozniacki leads Team Europe at the Hong Kong Tennis Classic, but the now 19-year-old arrives back in town with a collection of major commercial endorsements, a PR team driving her publicity - and the little matter of a world number four ranking beside her name.
The past year has seen Wozniacki land three singles titles - in Florida, Eastbourne and New Haven - and barge her way into her first grand slam final, at the US Open in September where she eventually lost to former world number one Kim Clijsters.
It has been a wild ride so far and Wozniacki is the first to admit that her head is still spinning.