World’s best junior to play at ASB Classic

China’s great hope for men’s tennis, Wu Yibing has been awarded a wildcard into the ASB Classic.

The Junior World Number One has impressed all year, winning both singles and doubles at the US Open becoming the first Chinese male to win a Grand Slam event.  He reached the Semi final in both singles and doubles at the Australian Open also. 

The young star got his first taste of Davis Cup this year, and shone in his homeland tournaments winning a Challenger in Shanghai and making the semi-final and quarter-final at two further Challenger tournaments in China.

His victory in Shanghai put Yibing in elite company alongside Nick Kyrios and Alexander Zverev as Juniors who have won a Junior Grand Slam and Challenger in the same year. 

Tournament Director Karl Budge is excited to welcome another up and comer to Auckland.

“We’ve had an incredible run attracting the most promising players early in their careers.  It is an important strategy for us to continue to capitalise on these relationships once they cement themselves at the elite level.  Jack Sock is a great example of how well this has worked for us.

Yibing is a great prospect.  He has shown he is the best junior in the world this year and his first step into the Men’s game was met with instant success.  He is certainly a player for the future and will carry the weight of a nation desperate for Men’s success”. 

For years, Chinese women have dominated tennis in their homeland, winning grand slams and making the top ten but it now looks like there’s some real talent coming through with Yibing. This youngster could be the first mainland Chinese male tennis player to make it into the top 100 and looks destined for greater heights.

Yibing joins the already impressive line-up of tomorrow’s stars with the likes of fellow 18 year old Denis Shapovalov, ATP Next Gen Final’s champion Hyeon Chung and Russian youngsters Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov all looking to cause upsets in the second week of the year.