Wu Yibing won last week’s Dallas Open tennis tournament at SMU’s Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex, defeating Dallas resident John Isner in three sets during the championship match on Sunday.
“Yesterday’s finals was one of the best matches I’ve seen in a long, long time,” SMU men’s tennis coach Grant Chen told The Dallas Express on Monday.
“The crowd was incredible. The weather was beautiful. So, all in all, I really felt the tournament was just absolutely spectacular,” he continued.
In 2017, Wu Yibing became the world’s No.1 junior tennis player after winning the junior bracket at the U.S. Open, but injuries derailed part of his journey.
“It took longer than it should have, but it turned out I’m here,” Yibing told the ATP Tour. “I’d be [lying] if I said 100 per cent I’m going to be here today. But the process is always the most important thing.”
Just eight months ago, Yibing was playing in tournaments on the International Tennis Federation’s futures tour, playing in tournaments for a fraction of the prize money.
“To see him progress and to now get to the point where he is now is just fantastic,” Chen said of Yibing. “And, you know, I think that’s what sports is about.”
His path last week included wins over five top 100 players, including Isner, Taylor Fritz, Denis Shapovalov, Adrian Mannarino, and Michael Mmoh.
Yibing is now ranked 58th in the World Rankings after entering the top 100 just last week.
SMU alumnus Nate Lammons, and his playing partner Jackson Withrow, a Texas A&M graduate, took second place in the doubles tournament — falling to the UK’s Jamie Murray and New Zealand’s Michael Venus 6-1, 6-7, 7-10.
SMU also had a few current members of its men’s tennis team participate in the tournament’s main draw.
Liam Krall participated in his second Dallas Open after losing in the first round a year ago. He was again eliminated in the first round but won the opening set of his match against Radu Albot.
Adam Neff and Pranav Kumar were paired together in the main draw of the doubles tournament and lost in the opening round in a match that lasted more than two hours.
Antonio Muniz-Hidalgo also took part as a member in the qualifying tournament.
“Tennis is one of those rare sports where you can play in a professional setting as an amateur,” Chen said. “To have those experiences is absolutely priceless.”
