Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

With the glory of 41 gold medals, the Chinese delegation ended its Olympic journey.

This is also the best performance achieved by the Chinese delegation in an overseas Olympic Games.

Unlike other tennis players who flew to North America in advance to participate in the Cincinnati station, for Chen Ran, his sports career has ended.

So he, along with some other athletes, flew back to the country.

He did not attend the closing ceremony.

Originally, the leader of the delegation asked Chen Ran whether he wanted to attend the closing ceremony as an Asian representative.

"You will be cheered by the Paris audience!"

"Uh, does it matter?"

But for Chen Ran, the title of "Asian representative" is just an insignificant vanity and he doesn't care.

He actually didn't want to stay in Paris anymore.

The reason was actually the same as that of Pan Zhanle, the straightforward boy from the swimming team next door, who was shouting that the food at the Paris Olympics was so bad that he couldn't wait to return home.

Of course, the food in the Paris star hotel is quite good, and Chen Ran has been staying in the hotel at his own expense during the competition.

But the competition is over now. We can’t expect Chen Ran to pay out of his own pocket and let the French make money for nothing.

So, Chen Ran also returned to China with the swimming team.

In fact, Chen Ran is also very familiar with the swimming team. After all, Sun Yang was also signed under his agency back then.

Later, a number of famous swimmers were also created by his agency, and their commercial value was even greater than in his previous life.

The General Administration of Sports is also happy to see this situation.

The higher the commercial value of the athletes, the more rewards they can get and the better they can popularize these sports.

……

“In fact, it is very difficult to engage in professional sports in China.”

Chen Ran was very clear about this and had long since given up hope.

Over the past 20 years, he has witnessed the gradual decline of the men's football and basketball teams. The more professionalized they become, the worse the national team's performance becomes.

Without the support of the national team's performance, most ordinary people would not be interested in the so-called professional league, and might even sneer at it.

In the blink of an eye, men's basketball has missed the Olympics for two consecutive times.

Chen Ran was just a bystander and did not intervene.

According to gossip, although Chairman Yao's term next door has not yet expired, his departure is almost certain and the countdown has begun.

He wanted to copy the NBA's system to China, but it can only be said that the wish is beautiful but the reality is cruel, and it is completely unsuitable for the local environment.

"So, as tennis is currently the most successful professional sport in China, what's the difference?" After returning to China, Chen Ran also accepted an exclusive interview with CCTV.

Because even if we put aside Chen Ran and women's tennis, current men's tennis is relatively successful.

After Chen Ran's ATP points were reset to zero, there are still 5 men in the TOP100 and 3 in the TOP50.

In the best-of-five Grand Slam tournaments, reaching the second week is a common occurrence.

Even if other male players besides Chen Ran win the ATP250 championship, it is no longer a sensational news.

"Tennis is special because the ATP and WTA have already set up the ladder. We just need to focus on training reserve talents and integrate them into this professional system."

"Moreover, tennis is an individual sport. You can even say that because coaches cannot provide guidance on the court, it is a sport where your fate is entirely determined by yourself. So it is quite special and cannot be compared with those team sports." Chen Ran talked freely.

"So what do you plan to do after you retire?" the CCTV host continued to ask.

"I can't leave this field. I will do some youth training work to cultivate more talents. In addition, if there is an opportunity, I hope to open a tennis school." Chen Ran replied very frankly, "I will try to reduce the training costs for young people."

Because domestic training resources are still limited at present, many young athletes, both male and female, will spend a lot of money to study in Europe or the United States, which greatly increases the cost for many families.

Therefore, the cost of training an ATP or WTA top 100 player in Europe or the United States is much lower than in China.

Of course, this has changed in recent years.

In addition, based on the situation in the past year, China's domestic tennis market consumption and tennis population have surpassed the United States to become the world's number one.

This is the biggest change Chen Ran has brought about in the past 20 years. Moreover, this sport naturally attracts some middle-class people.

"In addition, my plan for the tennis school is to give equal emphasis to career and study. That is to say, the tennis school is responsible for courses until high school..." Chen Ran paused for a moment and continued, "When they are 18 or 19 years old, they can decide whether to go to college or pursue a professional career."

At the age of eighteen or nineteen, it can basically be seen whether a young player can pursue a professional career.

If you can't find a job, go to college. Even if your academic performance is not good, you can still be admitted as a student with special talents.

"By the way, my wife will also participate in the training of Chinese youth tennis. She is in charge of the women's side, and her Chinese is also very good now." Chen Ran mentioned his other half, Ivanovic.

With her abilities, she has enough experience and skills to guide the young talents in China.

"Of course, my two children, my son and my daughter, will also try to become professional players. Although this road is very difficult, isn't it a valuable experience, even if this road is not successful?"

Anyway, their family has a high tolerance rate, so they let their children try their hand at professional tennis.

Of course, it is too early to tell.

The son is only 8 years old and the daughter is only 6 years old.

"By the way, are you interested in becoming the director of the Tennis Sports Management Center? Just like Yao Ming next door?" the CCTV host asked curiously.

"No, there will never be such a day!" Chen Ran smiled slightly, but his tone was very firm.

The CCTV host asked again: "One more thing, I heard that you restarted the 'Orphan Tennis Project'?"

"Yes. After I retired, tennis and charity are my two most important things, and I personally hope to connect tennis and charity." Chen Ran said very frankly and seriously.

"The 'Orphan Tennis Project' has trained two outstanding players. Let's not talk about Buyun Chaoket, who is already a top 100 player in the world. The other player is a real orphan, but now he has also won the Hope Tournament and can participate in higher-level challenge tournaments."

"Even if he doesn't become an ATP Tour-level player, he has completely changed his destiny."

“This program is great, so I will invest more money to get more orphans exposed to tennis.”

"Even if they cannot become professional players in the future, they can become coaches and become relevant practitioners in the tennis industry."

The CCTV host said with emotion: "It is very touching. You are a role model for all Chinese athletes... no, all athletes in the world. I wish you a smooth and happy retirement life."

……

Half a month later, a commendation meeting for the Olympic delegation was held in Yanjing, and a group of athletes including Chen Ran were received.

However, after the commendation meeting, in recognition of Chen Ran's outstanding contributions to tennis and Chinese sports, as well as his dedication to charity for more than ten years, he was awarded the Medal of the Republic for the first time.

This is also the first athlete in the history of the Republic to be so honored.

The audience burst into applause.

……

A month later, the final of a U8 children's tennis competition was taking place in a mini tennis court.

At this moment, Chen Ran and badminton star Lin Dan stood side by side, staring intently at everything on the court.

The two 8-year-old boys playing against each other on the court were the children of Chen Ran and Lin Dan.

The two of them made it to the finals of the U8 children's tennis competition and had a wonderful showdown.

Because of the fame of Chen Ran and Lin Dan, this match attracted many media and fans to watch, and the popularity was very high.

"Who do you think will win?"

"Winning or losing is not important at this age. Enjoying the sport, the joy of success, and the pain of failure are all part of the growth process!"

Both Chen Ran and Lin Dan spoke in the same tone.

"After several years, they will surely become the twin stars of Chinese men's tennis, right?"

"Who knows what the future holds? But for these two 8-year-olds, their tennis journey has just begun!"

Chen Ran knew that a new chapter in his life would also begin.

……

Thank you for your support. The story of this book ends here. I think this ending is the most perfect. (End of this chapter)