Chinese Teens Announce Arrival In Local Challengers

With a new crop of ATP Challenger Tour events being held throughout China this year, these tournaments have been a chance for some of the country’s youngest stars to showcase their best tennis.

At this week’s $125,000 ATP Challenger Tour event in Qingdao, 18 year old Rigele Te prevailed in the first round over fellow Chinese player Yecong He to win his second main draw match in a Challenger. His first main draw Challenger win came last week at the $125,000 Challenger in Chengdu, where he was also a wild card.

Although Te lost in the second round in Qingdao on Thursday to Danilo Petrovic of Serbia, the youngest player on the Chinese National team said the past two weeks have been an invaluable experience for him.

“To be able to win matches in Challengers for the first time is exciting,” said Te. “I know I still have a long way to go. I just need to play more matches, gain more experience and boost my confidence.”

Another player taking his first steps this year on the ATP Challenger Tour year is 16 year old Yibing Wu. Currently ranked No. 19 in the ITF Junior Rankings, he made his Challenger main draw debut this week in Qingdao, where he lost to former World No. 8 Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia in straight sets.

“I was very excited when the draw came out and to have the chance to play Janko. I really enjoyed it. I thought I played aggressive tennis in the first few games, but couldn’t keep up with him because he is so solid,” said Wu. “The pro players take everything very seriously. I learned a lot from that.”

Te and Wu’s appearances in Qingdao also come on the heels of 18 year old Fanjing Sun coming through qualifying to reach the quarter-finals last week in Chengdu. All three are aiming to get into the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, but said they want to be part of a contingent of top Chinese players.

“I hope when I reach this goal,” said Wu, “We already have Top 100 players from China.”