After the Olympic Games in September 2008, the Chinese Tennis Association announced that four players, Zheng Jie, Peng Shuai, and Yan Zi, could choose to fly solo.
This news is what I have been looking forward to for a long time. "Restructuring" is an epoch-making move in the history of Chinese tennis.I don't know what method Director Sun used to convince the General Administration of Sports that tennis can be reformed and we can fly solo.When I heard the news, I was so ecstatic that I immediately went to sign the agreement.This agreement stipulates that starting from 2009, individual athletes can enjoy the following policies: independent coaching, independent bonuses, independent participation, income owned by athletes and their teams, 8% of commercial development income and 12% of game bonuses must be turned over to the state .The agreement also stipulates that when athletes' own participation, training plans and competitions such as the Olympic Games and the Confederations Cup conflict, they need to obey the arrangements of the Tennis Association and shoulder the responsibility of participating in the National Games and other competitions for their provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.
I accept all of these terms.It fundamentally changed our training and our lives, and it really put us on the professional stage.To put it a bit exaggeratedly, this is the "household production contract" in the history of Chinese tennis.Previously, we have been eating "big pot of rice", which can guide the growth of newcomers and ensure that young people get more opportunities to exercise, but to help those more mature players enter higher-level fields, the "big pot of rice" system seems A little helpless.In this case, the flexible business mechanism shows its superiority, and the "private" model can solve the problems that the "state-run" system cannot or does not bother to do.
I am especially grateful to director Sun Jinfang. I know she must have made great efforts for this, so that the women's tennis team under the tennis center has such a breakthrough move.
When the reform plan was first proposed, there was great resistance from the General Administration of Sports.Director Sun Jinfang explained that tennis is a very special event.The response from the General Administration is: what is special?If it is an individual event, table tennis and badminton are both individual events.
In fact, there is no distinction between high and low in sports itself.The particularity of tennis is that it is a highly professional global mainstream sport, and it is a big ball among small balls, so there is the possibility of reform.
At that time, the performance of our national tennis team was not as good as it is now. Everyone said with one voice: reform is wrong.If it hadn't been for Director Sun's insistence on system reform against all opinions, our generation of athletes might have ended up silently like the predecessors.
It wasn't until after winning the French Open in 2011 that this controversial "reform" gained more support.
I have always hoped to get more professional training through solo flying.I had this idea back in 2004 when I came back.When I first came back, my grades were very good. The national team wanted me to return to the team in 2005, but at that time I was still studying at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, so I asked the team if I could do it myself and not join the national team, because I could continue to study in this way. .At that time, when I said "do it yourself", I was actually just leaving the organization in the Hubei provincial team, which was not the same as "solo flight" later, I just didn't want to go to the national team to be so troublesome.This request was not approved. Given the country's system at the time, it was not up to the individual to decide where to stay. In the end, I joined the national team.
To be honest, my personality is too straightforward. I don’t know how to do some things on the scene, and I’m not good at doing them, so I don’t fit in with the group, and it makes the leaders feel uncomfortable. So in the national team, I’m not a very popular athlete. At least that's how I feel about myself.They may think, how come a camel suddenly ran out of the flock?Of course no one will say this publicly, but that subtle sense of distance is everywhere. When there is no competition, I basically have no sense of existence. People look at me like they are looking at a glass door, passing through my body and reaching distance.When a big event comes around, I'm suddenly hot again.Everyone lined up to take care of you, this is what I care about... There is no place to hide, there is no place to hide-even if you hide on the court and play, people can still find you.
This kind of thing happens many times, and I will gradually understand it.After a long time, I got used to it and became numb.
But getting along like this for a long time is actually quite boring. I also feel uncomfortable, and the leader also feels uncomfortable.
Or fly solo, solo is a win-win situation, everyone is happy.
In fact, the relationship between me and the national team is not too tense. We don't have much conflict. On a certain level, we are still a community, and we all lose and we all prosper.
However, some things have not been communicated in a timely manner at times, and rumors have been spread, which has deviated from the original intention.When the team's instructions were fed back layer by layer, and finally came to me, it also deviated from the original intention and became beyond recognition.Sometimes it was unbelievable, and I had no choice but to appeal in person, which surprised the team: Why didn’t I hear it like this?
Jiang Shan told me that some anger has to be endured, and some things have to be endured.
But there are some things that I can't bear. You can make me suffer or suffer, but you can't coax me or lie to me.If you coax me or lie to me, I will simply block some news that cannot be confirmed to be true or false.
I'm also reluctant to explain.I think, if you think it's a cup, no matter how I tell you it's a bowl, you won't believe it, because you already have your own idea.Well, you say a cup, that's a cup.
Now I am my own master, take my own risks, and achieve my own results. I feel that although I am more tired than before, I am more relaxed mentally than before.It's good now, at least it won't be distracted by things that shouldn't be in the scope of sports.
From 2004 to 2008, it happened to be an Olympic cycle. At the beginning of the 2008 Olympic Games, I was troubled by injuries for a long time, and my performance did not improve. I gradually started to think about leaving, so I talked to the relevant personnel of the national team about my thoughts: If I can’t compete independently, I will be a real athlete. If I’m a professional player, just retire, so that I can continue my unfinished studies; if I can play by myself, I will continue to play. In 2008, I was 26 years old. As a professional athlete, this age is almost the same. I have had enough of this environment and this way.I would like to experience what real professional tennis looks like - hire a coach by yourself like foreign counterparts, have the freedom to choose to participate in the competition, and be able to equip your own team according to your physical condition and technical level, so that you can make great achievements Going one step further, this is professional tennis.
I played tennis for more than ten years, but never experienced real professional tennis. This was the biggest regret in my life at that time.At that time, I never thought that I could win the Grand Slam championship. It was like looking out through a window, only knowing that there were stars and moons outside, but the specific appearance was like looking at flowers through fog, which was impossible to fathom.
When I signed the solo agreement, I felt that I had a new beginning. From then on, I could try to integrate into the professional tennis circle.
Flying solo means that athletes have more autonomy. They can choose suitable games to participate in, earn bonuses, hire coaches, and arrange training.At the same time, solo flight also means increased pressure. If the results are not good and the bonus is small, it will be impossible to hire a good coach, the training level will not be high, and eventually it will be eliminated.It not only means opportunities, but also challenges and pressures.I was joking with Jiang Shan, asking him to prepare for the worst, if not, I will use up all our original savings and have nothing left.He said, then we start from scratch and do it again.
This is of course a joke, I am 26 years old, and the words "starting all over again" are just talking.
Nonetheless, I was very determined to embark on this professional path.The real professional tennis is that players form their own teams and become their own masters.In the past, when I played games, what I invested was physical strength, but now I also need to invest financial resources.The investment in both financial and physical resources has the current return.
When I stayed in the national team, all the expenses were borne by the state, and I only had to put in my physical strength, so the burden was much smaller then than it is now.To be honest, if I had been able to compete independently and had a small service team by my side, I would have preferred to stay in the national team, because the personal burden and pressure would not be so great, and the risks I would take would be much smaller. many.
The country has trained you and has management rights over you, which is a matter of course.The tennis events in our country are relatively fair—unlike some other events that have a problem of limiting the number of people. As long as tennis players can qualify for the competition, the team will let you go abroad to compete—as long as it does not affect the game plan within the team , The training plan is fine.In the national team, the food, housing, training and competition of the players are all under unified management.
Before flying solo, we didn’t need any financial expenditures, and of course the proportion of income was relatively much smaller, accounting for about 25% of the event prize money.
From an economic point of view, "flying solo" means that all expenses must be paid by oneself, and more than ten percent of the money earned must be handed over to the country.It is impossible for ordinary people to sustain it.At that time, my yearly bonus was only 700,000 or 800,000 U.S. dollars, but the annual expenses of a team were at least 7 million yuan, which was obviously beyond the means, and I had to pay more than 2 million yuan a year.But I couldn't care less about that at the time. After playing tennis for so many years, I was very eager to experience the life of a real professional player.
I am 26 years old. For professional tennis players, this is an age where you can retire at any time.I feel the urgency of time every day, and the feeling of "time does not wait for me" presses on my heart every minute.Players who fly solo have more choices of events, and no longer play with the national team across the board. That is to say, I can concentrate on competing in the four major open competitions in the future, which is also a major motivation for me to fly solo.
After flying solo, my training fees, air tickets, and team expenses are all borne by myself. In addition, I still pay the income to the country according to a fixed ratio.This is what I am willing to do. I hope that our country’s tennis industry will be better and better. I hope that more young and promising newcomers can go international, so that everyone can know that Orientals can also have first-class physique and level.I think it is more meaningful to take action than to chant slogans when it comes to paying for the country.
A very big problem I encountered after flying solo was the visa.Because tennis players have to fly around the world to play games every year, and they need visas to go to any country. According to the normal visa cycle, it is too late. Fortunately, the National Tennis Management Center is very active in helping us solve the visa problem.
After flying solo, I found that the language barrier was another test I faced.Most of the staff around me are foreigners, the coaches and fitness coaches are foreigners, and most of the reporters I meet abroad are also foreigners. They all speak English, and I can't communicate with them because I don't know English.It was at this time that my English improved by leaps and bounds.Many netizens are concerned about how I learned English. In fact, I was forced by the environment.If you ask me what is the most important thing in learning English, I will definitely say "thick-skinned", dare to speak, and dare to try.Don't worry about your grammar, tense, pronunciation, etc., even if it is wrong, foreigners can understand it.Don't worry that foreigners will laugh at you.If a foreigner speaks Chinese to you, don't you also have a little respect for him, and won't you laugh at him for his "weird accent"?In the same way, most foreigners are still very friendly. When they see you speak English, not only will they not laugh at you, but they will teach you.Therefore, the most important thing is to open your mouth and dare to try.My English is not very good, but I can communicate and communicate with foreigners. For me, this is enough.
