Original title: Characters | Buyunchaokete, the eagle flying over the green grassland
He is the unyielding thorn in the Chinese men’s tennis team. He left his hometown due to family reasons when he was young, worked his way up from the grassroots step by step, and finally ushered in the highlight of his career. His story is full of hardships and inspiration. He said that the path I have taken is different from others.
On October 1, Buyunchaoket returned the ball during the game. On the same day, in the men’s singles semi-finals of the 2024 China Tennis Open in Beijing, Chinese player Buyunchokte lost 0:2 to Italian player Sina and missed the final. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Bai Xuefei
Buyunchaoket was born in Bortala Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture in northwest Xinjiang in 2002. “Bortala” means “green grassland” in Mongolian. At the age of 5, Xiaobu was selected by the coach of Huzhou Tennis Center to start a formal tennis training career. In 2011, he was transferred to the Zhejiang Provincial Tennis Team and became friends with his life’s “Bole” coach Yu Jinxing.
When going to various cities for selection, Xiao Bu left a deep impression on Yu Jinxing. “You can see desire and reluctance to admit defeat in his eyes, and you can also see it in his eyes now.”
On September 30, Buyunchaoket celebrated scoring in the game. On that day, in the men’s singles quarter-finals of the 2024 China Tennis Open, he defeated Russian player Rublev 2:0 and advanced to the semi-finals. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Long
Yu Jinxing said frankly that Xiaobu is not the most talented player, but he is an athlete who will not give up and works very hard for his goals. This trait deeply attracted him. In addition, Yu Jinxing feels that Xiaobu has a very good natural feel for the ball and has high tactical literacy. “Although he was young and the ball was slow at that time, you can see that he was using his brain to organize the ball path and tactics.”
Because of this, when he was 12 years old, Xiaobu won the men’s singles and men’s doubles championships in the National Youth Tennis Ranking Tournament Finals. “Xiao Bu’s personality, up to now, his requirements for training, games or preparations sometimes even exceed my requirements for him.” Yu Jinxing said, “He is very strict with himself and strives for excellence. It can be said that he can do it Perfect. When he failed to achieve his training wishes and goals, he would often say, ‘I will come back to guide you, what else do I want to do, what else do I want to practice, can you add something to me?’ . He must achieve the goal in his heart.”
At the age of 14, Buyunchokert won the U14 championship in the Orange Bowl, one of the most famous youth tennis events in the world. In 2018, Buyunchoket won a total of 7 ITF (International Tennis Federation) youth singles championships throughout the year, and his youth ranking once reached a career-high fifth place.
As a player trained by a professional system, funds are limited and must be spent carefully. Yu Jinxing recalled that when they went to the Orange Bowl, they couldn’t afford to stay in a good hotel, so they could only choose hotels that guaranteed safety and met basic requirements. “It is actually quite difficult to spend these funds on allowing him to participate in more games.” Yu Jinxing said, “I remember the year I won the ‘Orange Bowl’ with Xiao Bu in the United States. He was very young, 14 years old. We got up at 5 o’clock in the morning and it was still dark. In order to save money on taxis, we walked to the stadium for about 20 minutes to half an hour. I also took a photo of the sunrise. “
During the critical period for teenagers to turn professional, Buyunchokert lost the opportunity to quickly get in touch with the tour through challenges due to the impact of the epidemic. He had to start from the lowest level ITF15K event and went through a difficult transition period.
On October 23, 2019, Buyunchokert returned the ball during the game. On the same day, in the men’s singles group match of the International Tennis Federation Youth World Tour Finals, he lost 0:2 to Danish player Holger Rooney. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Kun
But Bu Yunchao Kete said that working his way up step by step from the bottom would make him more at ease. “Maybe I didn’t get some wild cards that I should have after being a teenager, but I worked my way up step by step, which was a very good preparation for me. It may be a little slower, but more practical. After passing every level, I can improve my own level. Bring it up,” Xiao Bu said.
Successful flowers often require blood and tears. As time goes by, the eagle will eventually spread its wings.
In 2022, Buyunchoket finally ushered in the first full international season of his career. He won a total of six men’s singles championships, which tied for the most, in the ITF Hope Tournament throughout the year. In 2023, Buyunchaoket won his first challenge championship in Seoul, South Korea. In October of the same year, Xiaobu, who played as a wild card, defeated Serbian Kecmanovic in the first round of the Shanghai Masters and ushered in his first career ATP (Men’s Professional Tennis Players Association) Tour victory.
Picture from Shanghai Masters official Weibo
This year, Bouyunchokte continues to fly high. In August, he won three consecutive victories in the US Open qualifying tournament and entered the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career. In the following Chinese season, he reached the semi-finals of the tour for the first time in the Hangzhou Open, and his career ranking exceeded the top 100 in the world for the first time. During the post-game interview session, Xiao Bu burst into tears and said, “Thank you to my teammates and my coach. It has been really not easy to get to this point after so many years.” As Jay Chou sang “I Believe So”, Xiao Bu Went to the sidelines and hugged coach Yu Jinxing and cried. “Only he and I know all the sadness behind it, and he has sacrificed a lot.” This strong Mongolian man couldn’t help but lower his head and sob. At this time, one word is worth a thousand words.
“Xiaobu worked very hard, and it was not easy along the way. He has been with me for at least 13 years, and he has gotten to where he is today step by step.” Yu Jinxing said.
This time at the China Open, Xiaobu went all the way, defeating the No. 6 seed Musetti, the bronze medalist of the Paris Olympics, and the No. 4 seed Rublev, and reached the semi-finals, setting a new record for the Chinese Tennis Association men’s players in this event. score. On September 30, standing in front of him was the defending champion and current world number one Sinner. The game was not “one-sided”. In the second set, Xiaobu fought fiercely with his opponent until the “tiebreak”, but unfortunately lost.
On October 1, Buyunchao Ket (left) shook hands with Sinner after the game.
Xiaobu’s performance was also highly recognized by his opponents. “He is tenacious and good, with no obvious shortcomings. He is also young and I have a feeling that we will meet more and more often in major competitions. If he maintains this level, he will realize his dream. “Sinner said.
In the past two years, Xiaobu’s playing style has become sharper and more focused on offense, especially on the forehand and serve. “In the past, I was able to win many games with my existing abilities, but later I discovered that when I play professionally, I really need to improve and break through in attack power to win. It was this kind of pressure that made me dare to do a lot of things. “Something.” Xiaobu said, “When I was young, I didn’t experience a particularly sharp style of play. I just watched videos, but watching videos doesn’t have the speed and intensity of live tennis. This requires imagination and explosiveness. This is also the biggest change since I entered this circle in the past two years.”
Xiaobu said that his favorite star is Andy Murray. “What I admire the most is that he failed again and again, but still believed that he could still succeed, especially in the era of the ‘Big Three’. This is what I like the most about him, and it is also the place where I am most similar to him.”
