Who is Wu Yibing? First Chinese man to win ATP title in tennis Open Era

The 23-year-old recently lifted the 2023 Dallas Open to script history.

Wu Yibing, 23, has become the first Chinese player in the history of the Open Era to win an ATP title. It is an extraordinary feat for the Asian athlete, who defeated American John Isner in three sets to lift the ATP 250 Dallas Open. With this win, the Chinese athlete has jumped 39 places to reach the top 60 in the singles rankings. 

Who is Wu Yibing?

The 23-year-old made his debut in the ATP circuit at the 2017 Chengdu Open as a wildcard. In the same year, he was given another wildcard at the ATP Shanghai Masters. Yibing did not have a good outing in both of these tournaments. He recorded his first win at the 2018 ATP Shanghai Masters after defeating countrymate Li Zhe.

Wu Yibing suffered from injuries and was sidelined for two years from March 2019 to December 2021. Post his recovery, he started on a bright note winning the ITF tour event in the USA. The Chinese athlete then took part in both the ITF tour and the ATP Challenger circuits. Yibing entered as a qualifier at the Zagreb Open and defeated top seed John Thompson in the first round. However, he was knocked out in the quarter-finals ending a good run.

2022 Season

The Chinese athlete won three back-to-back ATP Challenger titles ahead of the 2022 US Open. His first came at the ATP Orlando Challenger in June where he defeated Jason Kubler in the final. The next title win was at the Rome Challenger, where he beat the 2023 Australian Open quarter-finalist Benjamin Shelton in the final. Yibing also won the Indianapolis Challenger in the same month.

These three Challenger titles enabled him to get through to the qualifiers of the US Open, making him the first male Chinese player to qualify for the US Open.

At the 2022 US Open, Yibing defeated 31st-seeded Nikoloz Basilashvili in the opening round. With the victory, he became the first male Chinese player to win a US Open match in the Open Era and also the first Grand Slam match win in 63 years since Mei Fu Chi at Wimbledon 1959. This was his first grand slam appearance in the 2022 season. Yibing had a good run in the major event, winning five successive matches (three in the qualifiers) before losing in the third round to No. 1 seed Daniil Medvedev.

When he reached the third round, Yibing also became the first Chinese man ever to reach the third round in US Open history.

After a brief break, he made his shift to Asia and played three Challenger events in Gwangju, Seoul, and Busan — all in South Korea. Wu Yibing won his fourth Challenger of the season defeating Li Tu in the finals of the Gwanju Challenger. His four career total Challenger titles made him the most decorated Chinese player in the circuit’s history. The youngster finished his 2022 season ranked 119,1000 spots higher than his ranking at the end of the 2021 season.

2023 Season

After a short break, the youngster started the 2023 season in the Adelaide International, but couldn't get through to the main round. He then lost to Christopher Moutet in the opening round of the Australian Open 2023. After two poor outings, Yibing came back strongly to win the ATP Cleveland Challenger in the USA.

However, Yibing's breakthrough moment came at the 2023 Dallas Open where he defeated four seeded players (Denis Shapovalov, Adrian Mannarino, top-seeded Taylor Fritz, and John Isner) on his way to the title. He smashed several records en route to the title. Yibing became the first Chinese man in the Open Era to win an ATP title.

With the title win, he has also become the highest-ranked Chinese player in ATP rankings history having entered the top 60 in the rankings.

Earlier, Wu Yibing became the first Chinese male to win a Junior Grand Slam when he won the 2017 US Open. He also attained the junior world No. 1 ranking in the singles section after the US Open win. Yibing will play a vital role for China in the upcoming Davis Cup 2023 tie (World Group 2) in September.