“Nobody call me that” – Why Yibing Wu is known as “The Great Wall”
More often than not, nicknames are given to a person by someone else.
Whether it’s based on a prevalent character trait, an incident, or a small quirk, people typically gain their monikers organically over time.
That’s why it took a special type of confidence for Chinese player Yibing Wu to come out and give himself a nickname ahead of the UTS Los Angeles event in July.
“I call myself this” – Wu explains his UTS nickname
The UTS nickname given to Yibing Wu is “The Great Wall.”
Except, it’s not given to the 23-year-old.
He gave it to himself.
“Nobody call me that,” declared Wu recently. “I call myself this.”
The Chinese star went on to explain the reasoning behind his bold choice of nickname for his UTS debut.
“My nickname is “The Great Wall.” That is all my idea. Because everybody knows the Great Wall is a great scene back in my country.
“It takes a lot of time, and a lot of work. Also, it’s very strong-based. So, I name myself this, because that’s how I play.”
What makes Yibing Wu so special?
With such a bold, self-attributed nickname, can Yibing Wu walk the talk?
To date, he’s been doing exactly that.
Hailing from a country of more than 1.4 billion people, Wu has shattered Chinese tennis history in the past year. Not only has he become the highest ranked Chinese men’s player of all-time, but he also became the first ever Chinese ATP Tour titleist.
Wu’s big breakthrough came in Dallas earlier this year, when he put together an epic streak to lift the Dallas Open title in Texas.
The 23-year-old defeated three Americans en route to the title, including a semi-final against Taylor Fritz and final against John Isner. Both of these matches went to three sets, with Wu grinding out two hard-fought tiebreaks in the second and third sets of the final to claim the tournament in style.
Wu looking forward to UTS Los Angeles debut
Yibing Wu’s season has not just been a flash in the pan on the indoor courts of Dallas. Since then, he’s maintained his momentum, gaining several more impressive wins and rising to a career high ranking of 54.
One of his wins recently was on the grass courts in Stuttgart, where he spoiled the comeback match of Nick Kyrgios. Wu put on a clinic of error-free tennis, wrapping the match up in just over an hour at 7-5, 6-3.
Thankfully for fans, a rematch is on the cards just around the corner.
Wu and Kyrgios have been drawn in the same group at UTS Los Angeles, meaning they are guaranteed to play each other in the first two days of the tournament. With Kyrgios also making his UTS debut and having a game perfectly suited to the intensity and drama of the innovative format, this is one to mark out in the calendar now.
Tickets are still available for UTS Los Angeles, with the event taking place from 21 to 23 July at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson.
- July 21st : Yibing “The Great Wall” Wu Vs Diego “El Peque” Schwartzman
- July 21st : Yibing “The Great Wall” Wu Vs Taylor “The Hotshot” Fritz
- July 22nd : Yibing “The Great Wall” Wu Vs Nick “King Kyrgios” Kyrgios
