Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 146: Interview with the network management center (please subscribe)

Deep in Chen Ran's heart, he does not want China's tennis to be a one-man show for him.

If he is the only one in China Tennis, no matter how popular it is, the foundation will still be fragile.

He also hopes that other players can also grow up and that everyone can support China Tennis together.

Chen Ran met a 12-year-old child named Wu Di at the National Tennis Center. He was a leader in his age group, so he got the opportunity to practice here.

"It's actually him..." Chen Ran muttered in his heart when he saw this thin child.

According to the original timeline, this somewhat inconspicuous child would become the first Chinese player in history to reach the four Grand Slams, and once ranked in the top 150 in the world.

As an adult, Wu Di was only 1 meters tall and had a slightly thin body, but he was able to enter the main draw of the four Grand Slams in the men's tennis world where there are many macho men. Industry insiders commented that he has a very good golf IQ. .

I remember that in 2023, Zhang Zhizhen, the top brother of the Chinese Men’s Tennis Team, lost in Europe and almost wanted to retire.

Wu Di immediately flew to Europe to accompany Zhang Zhizhen and told him many game tips and experiences. The latter miraculously reborn and directly broke into the quarterfinals of the Madrid Masters.

A very interesting thing about competitive sports is that often excellent players cannot become good coaches, but there are often ordinary players who can become excellent coaches.

At this moment, Wu Di looked at Chen Ran curiously and cautiously. This brother, who was not much older than him, was a man who reached the semi-finals of the Grand Slam and created Asian tennis history.

The reason why Chen Ran came to the Huaxia Tennis Training Center was because he was invited by Sun Jifang to give a speech to the seniors of the national team as a way of motivation.

During this period, Chen Ran had to train and compete with these people.

Currently, among the players of these national teams, women can occasionally participate in some tours, while men can basically only participate in challenge matches.

Chen Ran followed his words and practiced with the male and female players respectively.

Although men's tennis and women's tennis are both hugely influential and rich in prize money, they cannot be considered a sport at all. The difference in competitive level is too great.

Chen Ran practiced with a few female players and kept their fights quiet, but when he competed with the male players, he could be said to be full-on, beating these national team players into deep despair.

But in Chen Ran's words, he has just recovered from his injury and has not yet conducted systematic training, so he is only in tour form, not at a Grand Slam level.

"What's the status of the tour?" Sun Jifang had just taken over the tennis job and didn't know much about it yet. "I remember that there are three levels of the tennis tour."

Chen Ran shrugged: "I have only played in the 250 tournament on the tour so far. I have never played in the 500 tournament and the Masters. The level just now is basically the basic level of the 250 tournament players."

"Oh my god!" Sun Jinfang patted her forehead.

Sun Jinfang, who was once the main force in the women's volleyball team's "five consecutive championships", looked at these current male players and couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

Wang Liangzuo, who is also the head coach of the national team, shook his head. He himself has never played in a tour, but he also hopes that his male disciples can one day be on the tour stage.

But now it seems that it is better to let go of this unrealistic wish as soon as possible.

Although Wang Liangzuo's level is very average, due to the huge gap in competitive level between women's tennis and men's tennis, it is enough for a male coach to guide them, especially his focus is on the women's doubles event.

Chen Ran also observed the women's doubles pair that had high hopes, Li Ting and Sun Tiantian.

If the historical trajectory is not passive, they will win the gold medal at the Athens Olympics next year.

"Director Sun, I heard that one of the female players won the women's singles gold medal at the Yanjing Universiade the year before last?" Chen Ran glanced at the female players and asked knowingly, "Who is she?"

"Li Na? She had a fight with her previous leader during the Asian Games last year and retired to study." Sun Jinfang looked helpless.

"Oh, that's a pity..." Chen Ran sighed softly, "The golden career of an athlete only lasts a few years."

Sun Jinfang also came from an athlete background and has a deep understanding of this: "Yes, I have no conflict with her anyway, plus I have the task of the 08 Olympics, so I want to personally persuade her."

"Okay!" Chen Ran nodded.

History has shifted after all.

In the original time and space, Sun Jinfang took office in 2004 and was busy preparing for the Athens Olympics.It was not until after the Olympics that she flew to Wuhan to invite Li Na to come back.

In this time and space, because of the butterfly effect caused by Chen Ran, Sun Jinfang took office a year early and was immediately ready to persuade Li Na.

"But this Wuhan woman has a really hot temper..." Chen Ran silently recalled every bit of his past life in his heart.

Sun Jinfang suddenly shouted: "Xiao Chen, and Director Wang, both of you, come over here."

The two of them walked into Sun Jinfang's office one after another.

Although the office of the director of the network management center is not small, it is still quite plainly decorated, with an eye-catching five-star red flag on the table.

Among the current sports associations in China, only the presidents of football, basketball, and volleyball are at the senior level, while the presidents of other sports associations are at the deputy level.

This shows how much the country attaches importance to the three major goals.

However, these "three major goals" actually originated from the name of the former Soviet Union. There is no such title as the "three major goals" in the world sports world.

For example, rugby is also a big ball and is divided into English and American styles.

American football is the most popular sport in the United States, but rugby is probably second only to soccer in influence in many parts of the world.

There are also water polo, handball, etc., which are also very popular in Europe.

"Three Big Balls" is a unique title that only belongs to the Chinese people.

But a sad fact is that the more your country pays attention to it, the worse your results in the "three major goals" will be.

As soon as Chen Ran and Wang Liangzuo sat down, Director Sun personally made them a cup of tea.

Wang Liangzuo looked like he was hesitating to speak, but he didn't speak for a long time.

"Something happened!"

Chen Ran immediately made a judgment in his heart. "Xiao Chen, Aunt Fang wants to ask you something. Of course you can say what you think, don't you have to worry about anything?"

"Director Sun, please speak." Chen Ran also acted very politely.

His intuition told him that the other party must be looking for something to do with him.

"That's right, do you know anything about the Davis Cup? There are no competitions like the World Cup or World Championships in tennis. The Davis Cup is a team competition in tennis."

"Davis Cup?" Chen Ran frowned, and then said with some embarrassment, "I have heard of it, but I haven't learned about it. In fact, I have just participated in the ATP competition, so how can I have time to learn about the Davis Cup? ?”

There are actually some half-truths in what he said.

Although the Davis Cup is very useless, Chen Ran still knows it well.

Does the other party want him to participate in the Davis Cup?

In fact, if his teammates were of decent quality, Chen Ran wouldn't want to refuse, but it would be difficult for him to handle his teammates in CBA.

Besides, the most important competitions in tennis are in the tour and the four Grand Slams. At most, plus the Olympics, no matter how good your Davis Cup results are, the impact and significance will be limited.

Sun Jinfang glanced at Wang Liangzuo and said: "Xiao Chen, you do this voluntarily, Aunt Fang will not force you. Aunt Fang also knows that if your teammates are not strong enough, no matter how good you are, you will be unable to support yourself."

That's right!
Even if Chen Ran can win a certain singles match or even win a doubles match, there is a high probability that he will still lose the game 2 to 3, and then the two games he has worked so hard to win will be meaningless.

"That's what Aunt Fang thinks..." Sun Jinfang paused and continued, "You don't have to participate in the Davis Cup, but I hope you can participate in the next two Asian Games."

Wang Liangzuo on the side looked strange.

"Two times?" Chen Ran frowned, "Director Sun, let's consider the next Asian Games first. It's still too early for the next Asian Games!"

Sun Jinfang shook his head and said: "The next Asian Games will be more important because it will be held in Guangzhou! Chinese tennis also needs this gold medal!"

Guangzhou...

Chen Ran finally had the impression that this was equivalent to fighting on home soil.

This reason is acceptable to Chen Ran for him to participate in one more Asian Games.

Frankly speaking, if Sun Jinfang couldn't persuade him, more senior leaders might come to persuade him personally.

The Asian Games held locally is of great significance, and this face must be given.

From Chen Ran's perspective, although he is not a player in the system, he is still Chinese after all. If the national team invites you to participate in a game and you flatly refuse, it will still affect your reputation if the news spreads.

In addition to paying taxes, the country does not share your bonuses and advertising fees. It just wants you to compete for the country, and you cannot refuse due to emotion and reason.

Players like the Big Three are also very active in competing for their country.

As a Chinese, our enthusiasm for competing for our country cannot be lost to those Europeans.

"Yes, it is my duty to compete for the national team. I can agree. But..." Chen Ran paused and added, "I shouldn't need to train. I think that the players of the national team train for two or three months. Think about it. It just feels scary.”

Wang Liangzuo suddenly spoke: "Which athlete doesn't train intensively? Only by training intensively can our Chinese athletes ensure good results, and the country will also provide you with sufficient logistical support."

Chen Ran ignored him and looked at Sun Jinfang calmly.

"Director Sun, my experience at the Australian Open tells me that training through competition is the best."

Chen Ran deliberately emphasized the words "experience at the Australian Open", and Wang Liangzuo was immediately speechless.

Wang Liangzuo has no Grand Slam experience, not even a tour.

This kid said this to himself on purpose.

Wang Liangzuo had his own little thoughts.

For example, when Chen Ran participates in the Olympics and Asian Games, he will definitely bring his team, including the head coach.

But only when he participates in the Davis Cup team competition, Chen Ran will nominally become his team member, because he is the head coach of the Huaxia Tennis Team.

In the future, he can show off that he has taught Chen Ran and will charge higher fees for training courses in the future.

After all, children who are willing to talk about tennis come from families that are either rich or expensive.

Now, in order to secure the Asian Games, Sun Jinfang directly decided that Chen Ran would not have to participate in a useless competition like the Davis Cup. His little idea could not be achieved.

"Don't worry, Xiao Chen, we won't let you train." Sun Jinfang smiled, "The only requirement is that you need to have a good rest and conserve your physical fitness one week before the Asian Games."

The implication is, don't go to a tournament a week before the Asian Games.

The tennis matches of the Asian Games will not conflict with the four Grand Slams, the year-end, or the Masters, but may conflict with some 500 or 250 matches, but this is not important to Chen Ran.

"Director Sun, do I need to participate in mixed doubles or men's doubles?" Chen Ran raised his eyebrows, "After all, my energy is limited."

In theory, a tennis player can sign up for three events, so some things must be made clear.

"This point..." Sun Jinfang pondered for a while, "Xiao Chen, you can participate in two items at most. It is up to you to decide whether to participate in mixed doubles or men's doubles in the future."

In fact, in tennis, the influence of mixed doubles is weaker than that of men's doubles and women's doubles.

Sun Jinfang showed her sincerity, and Chen Ran nodded with satisfaction.

Suddenly, Chen Ran thought of another possibility.

If male and female Grand Slam winners participate in the Guangzhou Asian Games in the mixed doubles format in the future, this topic will be extremely sensational just thinking about it.

……

(End of this chapter)