Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 295 Invitation from the Players Association and the Chinese Queen

Chen Ran has caused many butterfly effects, but bringing the ATP Masters 1000 to China four years in advance should be the biggest butterfly effect he has caused.

Six years is too long, seize the day!

This year, there is only one Heineken Open in China, which is like an exhibition match.

However, starting next year will be the first Chinese season in the true sense, and the year after that is also 2005. After joining the Masters, the Chinese season will become complete.

In the past few days, Chen Ran has attended many business activities in Shanghai, and it can be said that he is making money every day.

In addition, although Chen Ran himself has not made specific statistics on this year's competition bonuses, those professional sports media will not let them go for the sake of topicality.

According to their data analysis, Chen Ran, who has won two Grand Slam championships and four Masters championships this year, has earned a total of more than 500 million US dollars in tournament prize money.

The bonus from this game alone has exceeded Yao Ming's annual salary with the Rockets, and Chen Ran's commercial endorsements currently lead the entire Chinese cultural and sports circle.

But if you think about it from another angle, it’s not easy for tennis players.

For someone like Chen Ran who has worked so hard to win so many heavyweight championships, the bonus is comparable to that of an NBA rookie like Yao Ming.

Therefore, tennis superstars including Chen Ran and Roddick have also begun to call in public for the four majors to increase player bonuses, especially the bonuses for the first and second rounds, so that more players ranked around 100 can Players, the financial conditions can be more generous.

In any sport, if you want the sport to grow healthily, the players at the top have to speak out.

Similarly, the ATP Players Union also announced that Chen Ran will officially become a union member in 2004.

In addition, with the start of the Chinese season, the players union requested to increase the proportion of year-end dividends and the number of participants.

In tennis, at the end of each year, the ATP will distribute dividends to the 12 best-performing players based on the year's profits.

However, there is a more stringent condition. All players must ensure that they participate in at least seven of the nine Masters tournaments in order to receive year-end bonuses.

However, the ATP has no requirements for the four Grand Slam matches. After all, no player is willing to miss a Grand Slam match under normal circumstances.

Since the beginning of this year, Chen Ran has been absent from the Monte Carlo Masters and the Hamburg Masters, a total of two events. Therefore, if he wants to get the year-end bonus, he must participate in the Paris Masters and complete the minimum participation requirements.

If Chen Ran ends the season ranked number one at the end of the year, he can probably get a bonus of about US$100 million.

While that's not much for him, it's a huge amount of money for most tennis players.

However, after the start of the Chinese season, the ATP Players Union hopes to increase the number of people who can participate in year-end dividends to the top 2004 eligible players starting in 20. This also means that the ATP has to return more profits to the players.

This is the biggest point of disagreement between the two sides, and therefore they are in a stalemate.

"Those idiots! Don't these foreigners understand the principle of asking for high prices and paying back on the spot?"

This is Chen Ran's true inner thought.

He also talked about this matter in an interview with Chinese reporters.

"Top 20? I think it's still too few!"

"I think the top 30 players should be able to get bonuses. After all, players who can enter the TOP 30 are the backbone of the ATP!"

You kid is even more ruthless, the lion opens his mouth! 30 quotas, will this kill the ATP?

Only Chen Ran knew that more than ten years later, with the efforts of Djokovic and other players, they had indeed increased the number of people who could participate in dividends to 30.

But now it is 2003, and getting 20 places is in line with the current goal.

"That's what I think, but we can sit down and talk about the specifics!" Chen Ran smiled slightly, "Tennis will benefit."

"Besides, I think it may be difficult for our Chinese players to produce another player ranked in the top 12 in the future, but it is very possible to rank in the top 30, so our Chinese players will also benefit in the future."

"Next year you will become a member of the ATP Players Union, so do you want to go one step further and become the chairman of the ATP Players Union?"

Chen Ran said very frankly: "This is an honor. If one day, they elect me to become the chairman of the players union, I will also be bound to let more athletes benefit from it."

Since you want to be a "goat", you must take on the responsibility of the "goat".

Other things can be ignored, except tennis.

Chen Ran knows very well that all his honors, fame and fortune come from tennis.

"But..." The Chinese reporter had some words that he didn't say.

The ATP players union and those in China are completely different in nature. The latter is only used to distribute soap and movie tickets.

They are worried that if Chen Ran becomes the chairman of the ATP Players Association in the future, will it arouse dissatisfaction and suspicion among some people in China?

Of course, morally speaking, Chen Ran was doing the right thing, and no one could control him, no one.

……

Shanghai is worthy of being the fashion capital and China's leading vanity fair, attracting celebrities from all walks of life.

Similarly, the Heineken Open held in Shanghai also has a tradition of inviting entertainers from the entertainment industry to help out.

For example, today's party.

Chen Ran also met some of the more popular artists in this era. For example, Li Yapeng, who is known as the actress killer, is now in his popular period and was also invited by the Shanghai Magic City Organizing Committee as a guest.

However, because of his recent breakup with Zhou Xun, this popular young man was in a low mood and not very interested.

Chen Ran thought that in order to prove his charm, that guy might have started looking for a bigger actress in the entertainment industry.

He didn't take the initiative to talk to him, but Li Yapeng took the initiative to find him and even complained to him that the actor's salary was too low and the money was not enough to spend. He wanted to go into business and make a lot of money. He also expressed that he was very, very envious of Chen Ran.

There are so many prizes in the competition, and there is a steady stream of advertising endorsements and various commercial activities. It is simply a winner in life.

This guy is so jealous that he learned to play tennis when he was young.

Although Yao Ming earns a lot, his height and talent are beyond the reach of others and they dare not have other ideas.

However, due to Chen Ran's success, not only the guy opposite him, but also many other people began to be attracted by it.

You see, Chen Ran doesn't look tall, he's less than 185cm tall, and his body doesn't look very strong. He's not that muscular guy.

As for physical fitness, many guys who have practiced sports feel that their physical fitness is better than Chen Ran.

If he can be so successful, why can't I?

After all, netizens in this era are still very confident, and Chen Ran is well aware of their mentality.

But brother, you haven’t seen how hard and boring the lives of other tennis players in China are. This is a winner-takes-all sport.

"Maybe..." Chen Ran thought to himself, but he did not show any strange look on his face or give any rebuttal to the other party. Instead, he showed his thumb, "You are tall and strong, with strong limbs. You are born with Tennis player material.”

"Acting is so hard, how much does it cost to work so hard!"

"Perhaps...Brother Yapeng, you really chose the wrong industry. What a pity."

These words simply spoke to Li Yapeng's heart.

"..." He opened his eyes wide, "You are so right."

People of this era have endless tricks like those of later generations, and they simply don’t understand what it means to flatter and kill, and what it means to tease you.

No one would even think of a seventeen-year-old boy who was full of deceitful words.

At this time, there was a commotion among the guests throughout the venue, and sometimes there were shouts.

Surrounded by numerous security personnel, the biggest guest of this year’s Magic City Heineken Open appeared on stage.

Faye Wong, the queen of Chinese entertainment industry!

After Teresa Teng, until the time when Chen Ran was reborn, Faye Wong has always been the unquestionable first day queen in the Chinese entertainment industry.

It's just that in the later stages, the queen completely stopped doing business and almost didn't appear in the public eye. However, she still had a huge number of fans, and her popularity was still far ahead of other female singers.

The reason why the Magic City organizing committee invited her this time actually had something to do with Chen Ran before.

After Chen Ran won the French Open, a reporter asked him what troubles he still had now, and Chen Ran replied, "It's too popular." But now that he wants to win the US Open, he is even more popular.

However, this sentence also reminded reporters that Faye Wong said similar words when she participated in the show in the early years. So is this a tribute?

Two guys who were a little "red and troubled" met.

Chen Ran suddenly sensed something, turned around and found Li Yapeng staring blankly at Faye Wong.

"Is this a new target discovered?"

"It's better to eat soft rice!"

In fact, from Chen Ran's perspective, he admires Faye Wong very much.

Very open-minded and very chic. During the most popular period, she would get married and have children as soon as she wanted to. She was not worried at all that doing so would affect her popularity or career. Moreover, it had nothing to do with money. The other party was not from a wealthy family, and even she said The person she married was far less wealthy than she was.

And when the relationship comes to an end, Faye Wong can still turn around and leave gracefully, and will not make any dirty remarks or say bad words to her ex, even though she may have given him a lot of money.

These things are simply unimaginable when it comes to the most popular celebrities in the entertainment industry in later generations.

The chicness of many female stars is fake, but Faye Wong’s chicness is truly chic.

This party also has a charity auction, which is also a common feature of many parties.

It is unknown whether the donations were actually used for charity or if they were used for other purposes.

Anyway, the water is very deep, so we can’t ask in detail.

Chen Ran also put his rackets, jerseys, sneakers, and tennis balls from many games up for auction after signing them.

Whether it is a tour, Masters, or Grand Slam competition, his only bottom line is the racket he won at the French Open, which will accompany him throughout his life.

……

　Thanks to Maxim Xiaomianqiu for the tip!

　　

　

(End of this chapter)