Tennis school aims to produce Li Na's successor

Zeng Shaoxuan, a former men's national champion and now a coach at the 1123 Junior Tennis Academy, demonstrates a move to Cao Siqi. Zou Hong / China Daily

Young players to enjoy flexibility and more global opportunities

When Li Na announced her retirement from competitive tennis last year, the search for China's next tennis superstar shifted several gears as coaches across the country frantically attempted to spot her likely successor.

Yi Ping, founder of the 1123 Junior Tennis Academy in Beijing, is convinced that her new training model, far removed from the old State system, gives the academy a great chance of producing China's next world-beating tennis player.

"My goal is to bring up the 'next Li Na' for China," she said. "I want these young players to realize the dream I failed to achieve when I was playing."

The 50-something former player admits that she was never a top-class performer, but she never forgot the tennis dreams of her youth, so she founded 1123 - named after the date it opened, Nov 23, 2010 - to train promising players 18 and younger. They sign lifetime contracts and, in turn, the academy covers all their costs for training and competition.

At the moment, seven girls attend the academy, including China's No 2, Zheng Wushuang, 16, who occupies 18th place in the world junior rankings. The girls train for about six hours a day, five and a half days a week.

Ping An, one of China's biggest insurance companies, is the academy's main sponsor, while Nike and Babolat provide clothing and equipment.

"I only want to take China's most promising players so I can maximize the resources I can provide for them," Yi said. "A lot more junior players want to come, but we have to see great potential before we decide if we want them. We want to have all the top junior players in our club, as well as the top coaches."

There are eight coaches, led by Francisco Mastelli, a 63-year-old Argentinian who has coached both his national team and David Nalbandian, one of Argentina's best-known players of recent decades.

The other coaches are former top-level Chinese players, such as Zeng Shaoxuan, a former men's national champion, and Zhang Yu, husband of Zheng Jie, a two-time grand slam women's doubles champion.

"It's been a good challenge for me, to come to this country and showcase my work," said Mastelli, who is in his third year at the academy. "The important thing is to have a large base, then you can choose a champion. Here they (the students) are of a good standard."