Soccer celebrations are known to be ecstatic. Players on the field match the energies of the fans in the stands. The chants of the crowds during play, and there is no chance of silence during the match. In the sport of tennis, there is complete silence as compared to other sports. The crowd is comparatively less, and there is no noise when the game is in play. Even badminton has a similar style, but the crowd is more interactive.
Chinese tennis star Wu Yibing is one of the eight players who competed in this year’s UTS event. The Ultimate Tennis Showdown event has been a platform where Yibing has shown his hotshots and celebrations.
Yibing could not hold his excitement when he beat Diego Schwartzman as he ran around the court and suddenly stopped in between to strike a mediation pose. The celebration was of Manchester City’s striker, Erling Haaland, who uses the celebration often in his games.
🧘 @ErlingHaaland celebration for Wu after his win against @dieschwartzman 😂 #UTSTour pic.twitter.com/ix1kWdORcW
— UTS 🎾 – LA (21-23 July), Frankfurt (15-17 Sept) (@UTShowdown) July 23, 2023
Wu Yibing has gained a lot of fan following after his stint at UTS. He is known as the Great Wall in the UTS event. The 23-year-old has been making news on tour since his debut in 2017.
He won his first title this year at Dallas while defeating John Isner in the final. He is currently ranked No.89 and is only behind Zhizhen Zhang among Chinese players.
UTS gaining popularity among young tennis fans
Patrick Mouratoglou is the founder of UTS and the former coach of Serena Williams. Mouratoglou is currently coaching Simona Halep and Holger Rune. The 53-year-old wanted the game to be more diverse and emotional. He wanted the sport to be more connected to the young fans. The game is more intense and player interactive at UTS.
Ultimate Tennis Showdown has a different point structure than regular tennis. A player only receives 15 seconds after each point to prepare for the next one. Every match has four quarters of eight minutes each, and if players win two quarters each, then a sudden death is introduced.
A player has to win two consecutive points to win the sudden death and ultimately win the match. Each player has only one serve per point, and in the quarter, they serve for two points and then give the turn to the opponent.
The event also has more fan interactions; the fans can cheer during points. The players can also talk to each other in the match and are guided by their coach at every stage. Fans can also ask questions of the players, as the tennis stars are provided headsets where they interact with the crowd.