In the women's singles tennis final of the Paris Olympics, Zheng Qinwen defeated Vekic and won the championship.
This gold medal has created a new history of Chinese tennis and set a new benchmark for more children and parents who are interested in tennis.
From a competitive point of view, Zheng Qinwen's championship is full of gold, especially when world No. 1 Swiatek won the French Open three times in a row, Roland · Garros defeated him, highlighting Zheng Qinwen's technical and psychological both to the peak.
At the Olympic Games, sports elites gathered, and each gold medal represented the ultimate level of competition for all mankind, and the weight of Zheng Qinwen's title had to be added.
This gold medal is not only a historic breakthrough in Chinese tennis, but also a particularly dazzling because of the commercial value of tennis.
Although there is a gap between the global appeal of the project and team sports such as football and basketball, tennis is definitely one of the most commercialized sports in terms of individual participation.
Moreover, in tennis, the treatment level of male and female athletes is more balanced than that of other sports, and various reasons have created the unique commercial value of tennis.
Nine of the top 10 female athletes in Forbes' 2023 list of earned earnings came from tennis, and Zheng Qinwen was ranked 15th on the list at the time.
Another list, the top 10 also has 7 tennis players.
With Zheng Qinwen's Olympic victory, it is not surprising that her commercial value has risen.
Since Zheng Qinwen won the championship, how many people's circle of friends have been swiped by her, and how many app opening screen advertisements have appeared Zheng Qinwen's figure, I believe everyone has an intuitive experience.
But this glory only belongs to the super-first-class athletes at the top of the pyramid. The vast majority of athletes at the base of the pyramid or even at the waist not only have to run for life, but also need long-term investment.
It is estimated that only when an athlete finishes in the top 100 in the world in professional tennis and has a good ranking on multiple tours will the athlete's income begin to cover the cost. In other words, players who do not make it to the top 100 basically need to advance their own money or invest it by others.
Especially when athletes are teenagers, the cost is far greater than the output.
In the case of Zheng Qinwen, who has just won the Olympic title, she started competing on the WTA Tour in 2021, and this mode of overseas life that switches between training matches and international travel almost every week is not something that can be covered by family investment.
Fortunately, with the improvement of her grades, she received support from the sports departments of Hubei Province and Wuhan City.
"Yangtze River Daily" reported
As performance increases, so does the cost of hiring coaches and support teams.
Only when athletes produce results can they use input to leverage output, but only the elite of the industry elite can do this.
For ordinary people, mastering a sports skill and cultivating a sports hobby is a good choice to strengthen the body. But to choose sports as a profession, as a guy who eats, then it needs to be well thought out.
However, Zheng Qinwen's success today is precisely because she anchored the goal of taking the professional sports track early and winning glory for the country.
However, words are always easier said than done.
Zheng Qinwen started tennis at the age of 6, embarked on a professional path at the age of 11, and began to participate in professional tournaments abroad at the age of 17.
In primary school, Zheng Qinwen went from her hometown Shiyan to the provincial capital Wuhan to receive professional training, in junior high school, her focus of life has moved to Beijing, her mother is always by her side, and in high school, she has to go to a high-level tennis school in Florida, United States or Valencia, Spain, to hone her skills to enter the professional tennis world.
Perhaps, the first thing that more people will think of when they see this is the family's investment, and what is more difficult than "investment" is "determination".
The determination to confront the idea of "what if the child can't fight it" almost every day.
In the face of many unknowable factors and worries, this determination is not easy to make.
In the case of Zheng Qinwen alone, the goal of training an Olympian and an Olympic champion for the country obviously helped her parents make up their minds many times.
Zheng Qinwen has continued to work hard from individuals to families, as well as the entire team for years and even ten years, and finally achieved success.
Zheng Qinwen's father, Zheng Jianping
Once, Li Na planted the seed for Zheng Qinwen to embark on the road of professional tennis;
Now, Zheng Qinwen said, he hopes to become a better version of himself and even lead the younger generation.
Compared with Li Na's generation of professional players who came out of professional sports schools, Zheng Qinwen's generation has been aiming for professional play since childhood and finally succeeding in the case, which may be more specimen and reference.
From beginner to elite, the individual talent of the athlete, the unrelenting support of the family and the team are essential.
If you want to take a step to the next level, determination is often more important than investment.