Who would still play tennis after being reborn?

Chapter 99 Sweden's King of Clay and the Legend of Turf
In a hotel called Liseberg Grand Curiosa Hotel.

Gu Cheng lay on the sofa playing Popular Tennis, a PSP game that had become a form of entertainment for him during his breaks from matches.

"Senior Haoyang, wanna play a round?"

Yu Haoyang said sheepishly, "No, no, I went to bed late last night and my eyes are still tired. You should ask Senior Zhang Ming!"

"I contacted him, but he ignored me."

Yu Haoyang's lips twitched. Just how many games had he lost?
Gu Cheng had no choice but to find other people to match with. After finishing a game, he looked up at Yu Haoyang and said, "Senior Haoyang, on my way here yesterday, I saw a hotel near the Scandinavian Stadium. This one is obviously farther away."

Whether it's a competition, an exam, or anything else, he prefers to live nearby.

convenient.

The best option is to just go out.

One kilometer is neither a long nor a short distance. It's fine on sunny days, but it can be quite troublesome when it rains.

Yu Haoyang, acting as a "tool," had already prepared his itinerary on the way: "There are two hotels. Hotell Onyxen boutique-& lifestyle Adults Only is the closest one, directly opposite the stadium. It's a boutique hotel converted from a 19th-century building, but it's for adults only."

Gu Cheng looked up, a hint of surprise in his eyes at the fact that the Thai venue was only open to adults.

"Don't look at me, I've never been there either. I just read that online, and we really can't book it."

Yu Haoyang coughed lightly and continued, "As for the other one, Gothia Towers & Upper House, it is close, but the facilities are outdated, and it is nearly $26 more expensive than the one we are staying at now."

That's almost 150 yuan more expensive.

Gu Cheng and Yu Haoyang are currently staying at a hotel that costs approximately S$214.28 per night (including tax), which is roughly equivalent to RMB 1316. In China, this would be enough to stay in a five-star hotel, unless you're in a first-tier city like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, or Shenzhen.

But when they get abroad, they can only stay in relatively luxurious hotels.

The key point is that the facilities in the nearby hotels are not very new; they are basically old relics from the 19th century.

The place Yu Haoyang booked was relatively new, and most importantly, it had a fitness center.

But there's still almost a week until the start of the competition, and with the five days of the competition, they'll have to stay at this hotel for almost half a month, costing nearly 20000 yuan just for accommodation.

However, if you don't go directly from Croatia to Sweden, but instead return to China to participate in the Jindi Youth Cup, the round-trip airfare will cost about the same. In the end, the cost difference isn't that much.

However, coming directly to Sweden would allow for a seamless transition to another ITF junior tournament in early January.

In the end, the cost was much less than going back to China.

Even so, Gu Cheng still felt a pang of heartache.

So the nearly 30,000 yuan prize money he won at the Junior Zagreb Cup was only enough for him to travel to Sweden to play in two ITF Junior tournaments.

This is only because he won the championship, so his income and expenses were basically balanced. For those who didn't win the championship, or were even eliminated in the first few rounds, the money they spent was no different from throwing money down the drain.

"No wonder everyone says that if you don't have tens of millions in your family, you shouldn't even think about playing professional tennis. Not many families can afford that kind of expense," Gu Cheng sighed as he tossed his PSP onto the bed.

Yu Haoyang smiled noncommittally: "It's not only expensive, but also troublesome. The sports event visa we applied for is only valid for three months, which means we have to go back to China after three months no matter what."

"Also, the ITF junior tournaments are doing well now, the prize money isn't much, so there's no need to give the Tennis Association a cut."

"The Tennis Association takes a cut of the prize money?" Gu Cheng's eyes widened.

“Of course.” Yu Haoyang shrugged: “The ATP tournament prize money is charged by the Tennis Association at a rate of about 11%.”

"Why should I?" Gu Cheng asked, puzzled.

Professional tennis players don't spend any money from the tennis associations when they play in international tournaments, except for registering as professional players. In fact, all the expenses are paid by the players themselves. They finally win a generous prize, but they have to give away one-tenth of it.

This isn't...?
The key point is that even though the prize money for ATP events is relatively generous, professional players who can win prize money basically have to support teams, which is a considerable expense, often amounting to millions.

After distributing one-tenth of the bonus and deducting expenses, how much will be left in the end?
There aren't many left.

Gu Cheng finally understood why professional players had to accept endorsements; otherwise, they would starve to death relying solely on tournament prize money.

Seeing Gu Cheng's puzzled expression, Yu Haoyang gave a wry smile: "Actually, when I first heard about this, I was just as angry as you. Why should I? I finally made some money, and I travel all over the world every year, spending hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars a year. I'm finally starting to reap the rewards, but I still have to share a piece of the pie with others."

"In fact, the Tennis Association has no choice but to charge this fee. Such a large organization needs to raise funds to promote tennis, organize competitions, and build infrastructure. These tasks all require a lot of financial support, and it is simply not enough to rely on government funding and some sponsorships alone."

"Then it shouldn't be that high." Gu Cheng felt it was too high anyway. They pay for their own learning, training, and competitions. Even if they can win prize money, for the vast majority of professional tennis players, it's hard-earned money.

"Isn't the Chinese national football team rich? Anyway, whether or not they have funds won't affect the results, so they might as well use all of it to support tennis."

Yu Haoyang could only smile wryly; he didn't know what to say.

Unexpectedly, Gu Cheng, who seemed amiable and didn't talk much, was so stubborn about this. However, recalling how he himself had been furious a few years ago and how it took Lao Zhou a whole night of persuasion to calm him down, Yu Haoyang suddenly understood Gu Cheng a little.

Shouldn't people this age be like this?

When you encounter injustice, say whatever comes to mind, and if you feel something is wrong, start cursing.

Simple, stubborn, and hates evil.

"Let's not talk about this anymore." Seeing Gu Cheng's slightly angry expression, Yu Haoyang quickly changed the subject: "I just checked our ranking in the ITF Junior Circuit, and I've successfully broken into the top 300."

"And me?"

"Acheng, your ITF Junior Circuit points are 95, ranking 703, which also puts you in the top 1000."

"So fast?"

Gu Cheng was slightly surprised. He had just participated in one tournament and thought he had no ranking yet, or at least no ranking at least outside the top 1000. He didn't expect to have already climbed to the top 700.

Yu Haoyang put the cola aside: "It's not that fast, considering you won two championships in one event. With a score of 95, it's perfectly normal for you to break into the top 1000."

"In fact, you think it's fast because you think everyone is like you, but most of the players who sign up for the ITF Strong Junior Tournament are just there for show. Many will be eliminated in the first round and won't get any points. Even if they make it to the second round, they will only get 5 points."

Furthermore, the points for junior tournaments are calculated by combining an individual's best six singles results with their best six doubles results, divided by five. Accumulating 95 points without reaching the semi-finals or higher is much harder than you might imagine.

"Don't be fooled by my entry into the top 300. In reality, my points are only around 260. At your speed, it's a sure thing that you'll surpass me in two more games."

At this point, Yu Haoyang couldn't help but let out a wry smile.

He has been competing in the ITF Junior Championships for two or three years, but he didn't expect that his final ranking would be lower than that of Gu Cheng, who only participated in three tournaments.

However, the difference between winning the championship and not winning the championship is just too great.

In fact, most of the time, he was either eliminated in the first round or the second round.

There were only two tournaments where I actually won the championship, and one of them was less than a year ago; otherwise, my ranking would probably have been a bit higher.

But that doesn't change the fact that Gu Cheng's ranking points in three stations will surpass his.

But there is nothing we can do about it.

He might only win one or two championships in a year, and sometimes he might not win a single championship.

But Gu Cheng is different; he can win the championship in any event, so his ranking points accumulate quickly.

That's how tennis matches work; in a tournament, the higher your ranking, the more points you get.

For example, the junior Zagreb Cup singles champion receives approximately 80 points from the first round to the championship prize.

But if you're eliminated in the first round, you'll only get one point.

Even if they make it to the second round, they can only get 5 points, which is far from 80 points.

If the ITF Junior Circuit is cumulative, then playing more matches will naturally increase your ranking points.

However, in order to prevent this situation, the ITF has set a rule that the best singles result from six tournaments plus the best doubles result from six tournaments be taken.

This results in many players who have competed in ITF junior tournaments for several years having scores of less than 100.

In fact, most of them only manage a few dozen wins. A professional player like Gu Cheng, who wins championships with such efficiency, is a rare breed, perhaps one in decades.

"You're probably the professional player I've met or know who pays the least out of their own pocket to play in matches," Yu Haoyang said, tilting his head back as he drank his soda.

Why?

With two championships in one tournament, Gu Cheng's earnings from the competitions can basically cover his expenses.

This is still in ITF junior tournaments. Once he reaches ATP tournaments, Gu Cheng will definitely be the highest-earning professional tennis player.

The two chatted in the hotel room for a while. After dinner, Gu Cheng opened the door and prepared to go out for a walk. Since there were still several days before the competition, he took advantage of the free time to travel around.

Unexpectedly, I ran into Yu Haoyang carrying a tennis racket as soon as I opened the door.

"Senior Haoyang, what's going on?"

"Let's go find a place to play ball?"

"Okay!" Gu Cheng readily agreed, as he happened to have nothing else to do.

Gu Cheng took a racket out of the room: "Where are we going?"

"There's a park near the Scandinavian Stadium with free tennis courts. I've heard that a lot of young people play tennis there, and I've always wanted to check it out. Now that I have some time, shall we go?"

"Free?"

"Correct."

Yu Haoyang laughed and said, "Do you know how many famous professional tennis players Sweden has?"

Gu Cheng shook his head; he had no knowledge of this subject.

"There are many. I won't go into the distant past, but you must know Federer, right? He was born in Sweden."

"Among the younger ones is Elias Imer, who was the runner-up at Wimbledon Junior Championships."

"Earlier was Stephen Edberg, who was ranked number one in both ATP singles and doubles and won six Grand Slam men's singles titles."

"Thanks to these tennis legends, tennis culture is very popular in Sweden. Although there are not tennis courts everywhere, there are far more than in China where there are free tennis courts."

"Of course, this is also related to the fact that our tennis results are not very good."

"Look at ping-pong balls, where isn't there a ping-pong table these days?"

……

In a country where tennis culture is prevalent, Gu Cheng was quite interested, and the two of them carried their rackets and headed to the nearby park.

Along the way, Yu Haoyang talked a lot about things related to Swedish tennis legends.

However, apart from Fei Tianwang, Gu Cheng knew little about the others, or rather, he had never even heard of them.

But he did have some recollection of Björn Borg, the Swedish tennis superstar Yu Haoyang mentioned.

As a teenager, Björn Borg, with his full head of blond hair, made his mark on the junior circuit at Wimbledon, winning the boys' singles title and embarking on his path to becoming a tennis superstar.

Whether on clay at the French Open or grass at Wimbledon, Borg has demonstrated extraordinary strength and charisma, becoming an idol in the hearts of countless fans.

This is why he is known as the King of Clay and the Legend of Grass.

“Indeed, Björn Borg was a groundbreaking figure in tennis at the time, and his achievements and style have had a great impact on the sport.”

Yu Haoyang was particularly excited when Björn Borg was mentioned: "Today, a new generation of tennis superstars such as Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic have all been inspired and influenced by him to varying degrees."

--boom! !
Snapped! !

The two had been walking along the path into the park for a short while when they heard the sound of tennis balls being played in the distance.

"Looks like I've come to the right place, this is the place."

Hearing the sounds of tennis being played, Yu Haoyang became especially excited. The two of them looked at the steps connecting to the slope at the same time. Dazzling light shone down, illuminating the area as if it were daytime.

—Slap! Slap!

The commotion grew louder and louder.

The two exchanged a glance and quickly ran upwards.

The area above was surprisingly vast, with an outdoor tennis court situated in the center of a large flat area.

A dozen or so young people wearing T-shirts gathered around the stadium.

"It looks like street tennis?"

"It's so lively!"

"It's incomparable to what we have in China. No wonder it's a country where tennis culture is so prevalent. When will we be able to produce one or two tennis legends? Maybe there will be more free tennis courts, and then street tennis will appear."

Looking towards the stadium, there were quite a lot of people.

Besides the young people playing, there were also quite a few spectators outside the stadium.

There were also quite a few girls in tennis outfits sitting nearby. Foreign girls are very bold. When they saw the two of them come up, one of them even waved to Gu Cheng and gave him a friendly smile.

Gu Cheng looked away, seemingly oblivious.

He really disliked girls who made special attempts to be friendly.

They're being too uninhibited.

The girl with the pretty short hair stared wide-eyed in surprise. When Gu Cheng stopped looking at her, she reluctantly lowered her hand.

Yu Haoyang was somewhat envious: "Being handsome is really popular! People don't even wave at me."

Just as they finished speaking, a young man three or four years older than the two of them walked over. As he passed Gu Cheng, he glanced at the rackets on their backs and sighed, "You guys are here to play tennis too? Looks like getting the court tonight won't be easy!"

"There are almost twenty or thirty people at this one stadium. You know the rules, right?"

Yu Haoyang couldn't understand the Swedish the other person was speaking, so he could only point to himself in confusion.

"Foreigner?" This time the young man used English, and Yu Haoyang understood.

Do you know the rules?

"do not know……"

The young man shrugged: "So this is your first time here? Well, let me tell you, it's pretty much like a competition. It's a one-game match, and if you lose, you're replaced. If you can beat everyone, you'll get to use the court tonight."

"Of course, by the time you defeat everyone, it will be too late, and there seems to be no need to take the right to use it."

"Quite interesting."

"Of course, this is much more fun than practicing with just the two of you."

"However, if you think it's a waste of time, you can go to a nearby paid club, which is quieter, but it will be much less fun than this kind of street tennis."

Yu Haoyang turned to look at Gu Cheng: "To fight or not to fight?"

"Fight!"

"It's all here."

"Then let's fight."

The two exchanged a smile, then walked towards the court with the young man.

(End of this chapter)