“He has a very good left-handed right…a bit like mine”: who is Juncheng Shang, the Chinese promise that dazzles Marcelo Ríos

“It reminds me a lot of me, it’s very similar in way of being. In my life, I had been so impressed to see someone play, “ It was one of the phrases that Marcelo Ríos launched at La Tercera when he was consulted on his possible alliance with Juncheng Shang (344th ATP), the great Chinese promise of world tennis. A statement that does not hide the enthusiasm and the desire to accompany a boy who seems destined for a spectacular future.

But who is Shang really? With 17 years old and 1.83 meters tall, His figure is already known to everyone who follows tennis, mainly at the minor level, and since childhood he has aroused great interest from the media and fans. With the dream of becoming the first Chinese player to enter the world’s top 100 players, “Jerry”, as his American friends call him, paved all the steps a star must take. Previously earned Top 100 wins, Masters 1000 main draw appearances and Futures trophies . Now he just hopes to have his first full-time coach and get the full promotion he’s been dreaming of.

Born in 2005 in Beijing, the left-hander quickly managed to fall in love with tennis and devote himself to a sport that China had not yet managed to exploit. In fact, a few years ago he confessed that at his mother’s work they built a clay court for him to play in, it’s one of the few clay courts in town . “The dirt helped me hold up much better on long rallies. Accustomed to this feeling since I was little, when going to Europe and having to play on this surface, I felt much more confident. After all, he had been playing on dirt all his life he said in an ITF interview last year.

El Chino has its analysis. . “He has a very good left-handed forehand which is very heavy but very flat, a bit like mine. So, I tried to put this right hand that itches more, like Nadal’s. We formed it one day and the dude he grabbed her by the blow. I also don’t want him to think about doing it every time he hits him, but he did it and fucked up how good it went.”

It is thus that in the Sánchez-Casal Academy of Nanjing continued to improve. A fruitful experience, which will finally lead him to take the plunge at the age of 11. As a child, he traveled with his father to the United States and began his journey through the elite. First it was in Naples, Florida, where they continued their education at another school in the Sánchez-Casal franchise, making great progress in the three years they were there.

And there, another important step was taken. In 2019, he left Naples for Bradenton to join IMG Academy. In the former Bollettieri Academy, he added apprenticeships and became world number one at the junior level . Not only did the coaches help him, but there he also had the opportunity to start training against other great promises like Sebastian Korda (54th), Miomir Kecmanovic (38th) and Denis Shapovalov (22nd) . It was in a paleto against the Canadian that Marcelo Ríos saw him play for the first time.

Shang’s big explosion did come in 2022. It was during this season that he already achieved great results on the professional circuit, proving that the expectations placed on him are nothing more than a reality. In February, he managed to become champion in Florida and get his fourth U15, beating players with a higher ranking than him in every round.

It was this performance that motivated the organizers of Indian Wells to invite him to play in the tournament playoffs, where he won his first victory against a Top100 player: Argentinian Francisco Cerúndolo (100th at the time ). It was that week that he made his main draw debut at a Masters 1000, losing in the first round to Jaume Munar.

After this passage in the Californian desert, and the conviction of being able to beat world-class players, the Chinese obtained good results on the Challenger circuit, signing round of 16 in San Luis de Potosí, Zagreb and Indianapolis . Results that place him today at 344th in the world and 48th in the “race” to qualify for the Next Gen Finals, the masters created to face the eight best players under 22 years old.

To achieve this goal, Marcelo Ríos should help him. And it is that despite the fact that “Chino” has made it clear that his possible alliance with the Chinese player is long-term and that the first year will only be learning, it is difficult not to think that very soon he could be in these places. Today, it’s not unreasonable to think that the Chilean could be on his bench in the most important events in the world.