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I suspect (and hope) we'll see a lot more of the Beijing Cinderfella Bu. But since he appeared suddenly with little fanfare, I dug around to find some background. Fist, about his game. A quick take after watching his semifinal with Jannik Sinner is that while Sinner's first serve was superior, once the ball was in play Bu stood toe-to-toe with the world number one who has, per the ATP metrics, both the best forehand and the best backhand on tour. Bu returned Sinner's service well, hit deep groundstrokes even off Sinner's deep groundstrokes, covered the court well, changed directions seemingly effortlessly with both forehand and backhand.
It's a bit odd for a player to suddenly emerge at 22 years old. Usually, we've heard of them working their way up the rankings by then, unless they're the rare player like a Sinner or Alcaraz that is anointed by the bureaucracy and gets on the fast track as a tennager.
An explanation from his ATP bio is that "From age 18, focused on school for two years during which he did not play any professional matches." How he could go without professional, competitive play for two years and appear fully developed is a mystery I hope we'll learn more about. Meanwhile. Digging around, Wikipedia fleshes that out. Bu was born Mongolian. His father died when Bu was young and his mother remarried and, following Mongolian custom, he lived with his grandparents. Since they did not speak Mandarin, Bu was "sent to the Urumqi SOS Children's Village. At the age of 5 (2007), he was discovered by coach Luo Yong and sent to Huzhou, Zhejiang for training."
Today's China Daily has a profile of Bu. "Born in 2002, Buyunchaokete was discovered by coach Luo Yong and began training in Huzhou, Zhejiang, at the age of five. By 2011, he joined the Zhejiang provincial team, where he met his lifelong coach, Yu Jinxing... At just 12, Buyunchaokete won both the singles and doubles titles at the China Tennis Junior Tour."
"Yu remembers their time at the Orange Bowl. Due to financial constraints, they opted for budget accommodations to participate in more competitions. "We were in the US for the Orange Bowl when he was only 14. We woke up at five in the morning while it was still dark. To save on taxi fares, we would walk 20 to 30 minutes to the venue. I still have a photo of the sunrise from that morning.," Yu recounted."
"The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted Buyunchaokete's transition to the professional circuit, forcing him to start at ITF 15K events from the ground up. "Starting from the ground up has grounded me. It may be slower, but it's solid. Each step has helped elevate my game," the 22-year-old said.
Buyunchaokete's perseverance paid off in 2022 when he completed his first full international season. He won his first Challenger title at the 2023 Seoul Open, and later in October, he secured his first ATP Tour win at the 2023 Shanghai Masters by defeating Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic."
Jannik Sinner on Bu: ""He (Buyunchaokete) is a very, very good young player," said the US Open champion after the match. "We'll see him in the future on bigger stages. It takes a little bit of time, but I feel like if he keeps coming up with this kind of level, he will reach what he is dreaming of."
As for Bu's name, I suspect this requires more explanation to come, since there are contradictions online. Per the ATP "Full name is Buyunchaokete, but goes by Bu or his American name, Bert." However, "His name on the websites of tennis' governing bodies, the ATP and the ITF Tours, is displayed as either Bu Yunchaokete or Yunchaokete Bu." From Wiki: "In this Mongolian name, the given name is Buyunchaokete (布云朝克特).
From searching on Mongolian names, there are supposedly two, not one. The first is a patriarchal name -- the father's name with a standard ending, and the second is a given name. Perhaps his name results from a hybrid of Mongolian and other Chinese culture? If anybody has expertise on this, please share.
Photo Caption from China Daily this Wednesday: Buyunchaokete celebrates scoring during the men's singles second round match between Buyunchaokete of China and Lorenzo Musetti of Italy at 2024 China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, capital of China, Sept 29, 2024. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
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It's a bit odd for a player to suddenly emerge at 22 years old. Usually, we've heard of them working their way up the rankings by then, unless they're the rare player like a Sinner or Alcaraz that is anointed by the bureaucracy and gets on the fast track as a tennager.
An explanation from his ATP bio is that "From age 18, focused on school for two years during which he did not play any professional matches." How he could go without professional, competitive play for two years and appear fully developed is a mystery I hope we'll learn more about. Meanwhile. Digging around, Wikipedia fleshes that out. Bu was born Mongolian. His father died when Bu was young and his mother remarried and, following Mongolian custom, he lived with his grandparents. Since they did not speak Mandarin, Bu was "sent to the Urumqi SOS Children's Village. At the age of 5 (2007), he was discovered by coach Luo Yong and sent to Huzhou, Zhejiang for training."
Today's China Daily has a profile of Bu. "Born in 2002, Buyunchaokete was discovered by coach Luo Yong and began training in Huzhou, Zhejiang, at the age of five. By 2011, he joined the Zhejiang provincial team, where he met his lifelong coach, Yu Jinxing... At just 12, Buyunchaokete won both the singles and doubles titles at the China Tennis Junior Tour."
"Yu remembers their time at the Orange Bowl. Due to financial constraints, they opted for budget accommodations to participate in more competitions. "We were in the US for the Orange Bowl when he was only 14. We woke up at five in the morning while it was still dark. To save on taxi fares, we would walk 20 to 30 minutes to the venue. I still have a photo of the sunrise from that morning.," Yu recounted."
"The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted Buyunchaokete's transition to the professional circuit, forcing him to start at ITF 15K events from the ground up. "Starting from the ground up has grounded me. It may be slower, but it's solid. Each step has helped elevate my game," the 22-year-old said.
Buyunchaokete's perseverance paid off in 2022 when he completed his first full international season. He won his first Challenger title at the 2023 Seoul Open, and later in October, he secured his first ATP Tour win at the 2023 Shanghai Masters by defeating Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic."
Jannik Sinner on Bu: ""He (Buyunchaokete) is a very, very good young player," said the US Open champion after the match. "We'll see him in the future on bigger stages. It takes a little bit of time, but I feel like if he keeps coming up with this kind of level, he will reach what he is dreaming of."
As for Bu's name, I suspect this requires more explanation to come, since there are contradictions online. Per the ATP "Full name is Buyunchaokete, but goes by Bu or his American name, Bert." However, "His name on the websites of tennis' governing bodies, the ATP and the ITF Tours, is displayed as either Bu Yunchaokete or Yunchaokete Bu." From Wiki: "In this Mongolian name, the given name is Buyunchaokete (布云朝克特).
From searching on Mongolian names, there are supposedly two, not one. The first is a patriarchal name -- the father's name with a standard ending, and the second is a given name. Perhaps his name results from a hybrid of Mongolian and other Chinese culture? If anybody has expertise on this, please share.
Photo Caption from China Daily this Wednesday: Buyunchaokete celebrates scoring during the men's singles second round match between Buyunchaokete of China and Lorenzo Musetti of Italy at 2024 China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, capital of China, Sept 29, 2024. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
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