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https://scmp.com/sport/tennis/article/2101809/maybe-theyre-all-playing-ping-pong-says-peng-shuai-wimbledon-she-tries
Sport/ Tennis

‘Maybe they’re all playing ping-pong,’ says Peng Shuai at Wimbledon as she tries to explain the lack of male Chinese tennis players

Former doubles champion exits grass-court slam but glad to get her career back on track

China’s Peng Shuai was knocked out of Wimbledon by Romania’s Simona Halep. Photo: REUTERS/Tony O'Brien

Peng Shuai said the dearth of male Chinese tennis players was down to the strength of ping pong and badminton, as the country awaits a breakthrough in men’s tennis.

Peng said Chinese tennis had made huge strides in the last 10 years, first with Li Ting and Sun Tiantian winning women’s doubles gold at the 2004 Olympics and Li Na winning the 2011 French Open to become the first Chinese Grand Slam winner.

That has brought a raft of top tournaments to China and inspired the next generation of Chinese players.

But the surge is somewhat lopsided. While there are five Chinese women in the top 100 and nine in the top 200, led by number 31 Zhang Shuai and Peng, the top Chinese man in 224-ranked Di Wu.

“Maybe they’ve all gone to play ping pong or badminton! China is really strong in those sports,” said a jovial Peng, the world number 37.

“In the future maybe we’ll have some boys coming through, because it does take time,” as the sport continues to spread.

“If more people play, for sure in the future we will have have more boys, and girls too.”

China's Peng Shuai returns against Romania's Simona Halep. Photo: AFP
China's Peng Shuai returns against Romania's Simona Halep. Photo: AFP

There are high hopes for 17-year-old Wu Yibing, the second seed in the Wimbledon boys’ singles.

Peng, 31, was knocked out of Wimbledon on Friday by world number two Simona Halep 6-4, 7-6 (9/7) in a closely-fought third round contest.

The former doubles world number one was only playing in the Wimbledon singles this time around.

Wimbledon was the scene of one of Peng’s greatest triumphs, when she won the 2013 women’s doubles with Hsieh Su-Wei.

The former singles world number 14 reached the 2014 US Open semi-finals before a back injury threatened to end her career. She missed most of 2015 injured and got her tennis back on track last year.

A Chinese flag-themed, heart-shaped string vibration dampener is pictured on the strings of China's Peng Shuai’s racquet. Photo: AFP
A Chinese flag-themed, heart-shaped string vibration dampener is pictured on the strings of China's Peng Shuai’s racquet. Photo: AFP

“I feel and appreciate it because it seemed like there was only a slim chance to come back,” said Peng.

“After half a year I could not win a single match. So you have no confidence. But I still didn’t want to give up.

“I did a lot of treatment, talking with the doctors. Slowly it got a little bit better. This year I surprised myself because we didn’t think I could get this far. I thought if I could get back in the top 100, I would be happy.”

Resting her back means Peng has had little time to enjoy London during the Wimbledon fortnight, though she has made expeditions into the city centre to sample the Chinese cuisine.

“I’ve been to Chinatown twice for dinner. Now after my matches I need a lot of time to rest.

“This injury was not a light one. It leaves me tired and the acupuncture is really painful.

“Once I’ve retired, I will come to London for fun. I want to go to the history museums.”