{"id":691,"date":"2007-08-18T23:28:56","date_gmt":"2007-08-19T03:28:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.IreneEng.com\/2007\/08\/19\/a-story-a-dream-fulfilled\/"},"modified":"2025-02-18T19:37:15","modified_gmt":"2025-02-18T19:37:15","slug":"a-story-a-dream-fulfilled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/?p=691","title":{"rendered":"A story: dreams fulfilled"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/08\/cimg7592-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-46627 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/08\/cimg7592-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>A grieved one.\u00a0 Or, a happy one .. .. about Yuan Meng \u8881\u68a6 (yuan meng \u56ed\u68a6 means a dream fulfilled). <span style=\"color: #999999;\">file 22885<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I found few Chinese tennis pros&#8217; names are all sounded\u00a0whimsical &#8211; regardless how they were written. Yan who played in Toronto, Yan Zi = swallow, and Yu Fengming \u4e8e\u51e4\u9e23.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><sup>2012<\/sup> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/?p=39892\">her post<\/a><\/li>\n<li><sup>2008 <\/sup><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/?p=2008\">the moneyman<\/a><\/li>\n<li><sup>2007<\/sup>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/?p=773\">her quandry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><sup>2007<\/sup>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/?p=695\">verbalizing it<\/a><\/li>\n<li><sup>2007 <\/sup><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/?p=741\">dinner for Yuan<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/2006.usopen.org\/en_US\/bios\/ws\/wtaq594.html\">Yuan Meng<\/a> is a 21 years old pro who made into US Open main draw last year but has to play the qualifying round this year. Tony brought her to SAndy&#8217;s house to practice this afternoon. So after lunch and shower, we all went back there again.<\/p>\n<p>Tony was hitting with a youngster,\u00a0then Yuan\u00a0walked onto the court, and started practicing with the youngster.\u00a0\u00a0She would stop and confer with the lady who remained on the court all the time while she&#8217;s playing.\u00a0 The lady\u00a0looks\u00a0in her 50s, very tanned too.\u00a0 To my common sense, there wasn&#8217;t any tennis &#8211; so to speak &#8211; in China back 30 or 40 years ago (however I did have a classmate in\u00a0Beijing\u00a0who came from Sichuan province\u00a0played tennis there in an athletic school), so I said\u00a0so to Tony.\u00a0 He laughed,<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re right .. .. she doesn&#8217;t play tennis at all.&#8221;\u00a0 Then added that she&#8217;s also from Zhongguancun&#8217;s <a href=\"www.cas.ac.cn\">CAS<\/a>??<\/p>\n<p>Is she a manager or\u00a0\u4fdd\u59c6\u00a0 Nanny?<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s bit offensive.&#8221; Tony looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>Well, they are basically groupies, managers and coaches.\u00a0 IMHO, managers are pretty much a nanny, \u4e00\u811a\u8e22\u00a0in Hong Kong lingo &#8211; who does it all.\u00a0 Not a derogatory term in my dictionary.<\/p>\n<p>During a water break, I chatted with the lady who couldn&#8217;t wait to tell me why she&#8217;s here.<\/p>\n<p>Yuan came from a farming family (a.k.a. un-educated) in Hunan province (Mao&#8217;s home province).\u00a0 She was selected to attend an athletic school, playing tennis.\u00a0 When she&#8217;s 11, she stole a perfume bottle from her roommate. &#8220;It&#8217;s cute ..\u00a0she didn&#8217;t know anything .. it cost on 11.40 RMB.&#8221;\u00a0 So the coach singled her out as the trouble maker, and made the environment poisonous for her for the next two years.\u00a0 Her fellow players would hide their wallets around her .. .. She had no way out but to leave.\u00a0 When the athletic school refused to issue a certificate for her to attend school elsewhere, Yuan&#8217;s really\u00a0done\u00a0for.<\/p>\n<p>A family friend in Beijing took her in to practice with their child.\u00a0 Few months later, when the child gained admittance to the athletic school, her service was no longer needed.\u00a0 So Yu&#8217;s\u00a0brother-in-law asked her to take the 14-years old in for few days. It stretched into\u00a0few weeks, then few months.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I was really at my wits end.\u00a0 She tied me down, stayed home all day with nothing to do &#8230; she lied all the time, didn&#8217;t trust any one .. I wondered out loud when would she leave &#8230; then she started calling me gan ma &#8211; god mother ..&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>As we were chatting, Yuan came over.\u00a0 Yu immediately massaged her right hand with both her hands.<\/p>\n<p>So the burdened lady who knew nothing about tennis became coach\/shrink\/financier.\u00a0 She learned on the job, moved to Shenzhen for the warmer climate, sold their house to finance their travel.\u00a0 For a while, Yu&#8217;s grown son was supporting them.<\/p>\n<p>Today, they both clad in Adidas.\u00a0 Yuan did well in Aussie Open (in January) and was signed by Adidas right on the spot. Tony was more blunt in asking as how much the expenses are, like $150k a year?\u00a0 Yu didn&#8217;t give an answer.\u00a0 Then\u00a0she started complaining as how much the hotel\u00a0cost,\u00a0very expensive, like $100 a night .. the prize money\u00a0would only cover the entrance fees &#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Does her prize money plus the endorsement cover the expenses?<\/p>\n<p>Yu\u00a0said, &#8220;we&#8217;re still in talk.&#8221;\u00a0 ?? (Her post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Screenshot-2014-12-26-19.36.28.png\">on Adidas in 2012<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>Either she&#8217;s a true Mao&#8217;s trooper &#8211; looked like one (sounded like one too), or just a lousy manager who doesn&#8217;t know her way around.\u00a0 She told me\u00a0that Adidas only supplies clothing.\u00a0 I was very surprised to hear this. Hello &#8230; even\u00a0Golfer&#8217;s high school classmate got free clothing\/sneakers and equipment, for only playing high school tennis.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, I am definately\u00a0not the one who analyze things or people, believing what other tells me.\u00a0 Yuan&#8217;s\u00a0profile on US Open showed her career earning is US$136,817.\u00a0 Not bad for a farmer&#8217;s daughter who got kicked out of the system, under no professional coach thereafter.<\/p>\n<p>During the time we were at the court, I saw one thing strange: Yuan takes a lot, I mean A LOT breaks. Yu said,<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;OH ya. I won&#8217;t let her to practice more than two hours at time. One to two times a day, to <em><strong>preserve<\/strong><\/em> her physical energy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Another hello. I though all the pros practice 7-8 hours a day, 6-7 days a week to <em><strong>build<\/strong><\/em> their stamina. Oh well, Irene doesn&#8217;t know tennis. I think she&#8217;s out of her mind. Yuan needs to practice a lot longer and a lot more, if she wants to have any kind of future, in tennis.<\/p>\n<p>They met by fate.\u00a0 A lovely story, touchy.\u00a0 Sorry\u00a0the story teller has limitations, :).\u00a0 .. .. Relationships fascinate me. <span style=\"color: #999999;\">____________<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>2012.12.27, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/?p=39892\">her post on weibo<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"P. k. Subban\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/?p=695\">she stays low<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"P. k. Subban\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/?p=2008\">moneymen<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Penguin in Florida\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/?p=39288\">US Open 2007<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"P. k. Subban\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/?p=741\">her tennis<\/a>\u00a0+ <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ireneyeng\/media_set?set=a.10150096895203403.272828.551603402&amp;type=1&amp;l=5390f8b0ca\">dinner pix<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Penguin in Florida\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/?p=773\">at dinner<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/?p=709\">her name<\/a><\/li>\n<li>2006\uff0c\u66fc\u8c37\u5973\u5b50\u7f51\u7403\u516c\u5f00\u8d5b:<a href=\"http:\/\/news.xinhuanet.com\/sports\/2006-10\/10\/content_5182600.htm\">\u8881\u68a6\u95ef\u5165\u6b63\u8d5b<\/a>[\u56fe]<\/li>\n<li>2010.08.29\uff0c <a href=\"http:\/\/newspaper.jfdaily.com\/jfrb\/html\/2010-08\/29\/content_402805.htm\">\u8881\u68a6\uff0c\u7f51\u7403\u68a6\u96be\u5706<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.weibo.com\/yuanmengtennis?sudaref=us.yhs4.search.yahoo.com\">her blog<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/?p=39892\">posts<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A grieved one.\u00a0 Or, a happy one .. .. about Yuan Meng \u8881\u68a6 (yuan meng \u56ed\u68a6 means a dream fulfilled). file 22885 I found few Chinese tennis pros&#8217; names are all sounded\u00a0whimsical &#8211; regardless how they were written. Yan who played in Toronto, Yan Zi = swallow, and Yu Fengming \u4e8e\u51e4\u9e23. 2012 her post 2008 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[9,19],"class_list":["post-691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-tennis","tag-us-open"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=691"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/691\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}