BEIJING – China’s Shang Juncheng said his competitive spirit was down to having professional athletes as parents and the 19-year-old is keen to showcase the lessons he has learnt from their careers at this week’s Next Gen ATP Finals in Saudi Arabia.

Shang, the son of former China football international Shang Yi and former table tennis world champion Wu Na, enjoyed a breakthrough 2024 and climbed to a career-high world ranking of 47 in October after winning his maiden title in Chengdu.

He will now look to cap off the season with another trophy at the Dec 18-22 tournament, which features eight of the game’s brightest players aged 20 and under competing in Jeddah.

“I think the mentality is the same, that you go on court, you try 100 per cent,” Shang said about the influence of his parents.

“That’s what they’ve been telling me all the time: You’ve got to be a competitor, but at the same time, you’ve got to know your values – sometimes winning isn’t the most important thing.

“(It’s) more to enjoy the competition and the people watching you. I think at the end of the day it’s (the people) who are next to you that’s the most important thing.”

This year’s edition of the hard-court event is the second to be held in Saudi Arabia and will hand out US$2.05 million (S$2.8 million) in prize money overall but perhaps more importantly, serve as a barometer to identify the game’s next big stars.

Past winners of the tournament, which was held in Milan, include Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, both of whom have had Grand Slam success in the last few years.

The tournament also features a number of innovations, with all singles matches being the best-of-five sets and each set the first to four games.

“This event, they’ve had so many great players in the past and a lot of good champions,” said Shang, who lost to Frenchman Luca van Assche 4-3 (7-3), 2-4, 4-1, 4-3 (7-5) on Dec 18.

“So coming here is really special, especially coming to Jeddah. Maybe a couple of years ago, there wasn’t too much tennis action going on, but now we have the WTA Finals (in Riyadh) and the Next Gen Finals here, so I’m really looking forward to it.”

In other news, Simona Halep was handed a wild card for the Australian Open on Dec 18, as the two-time Grand Slam champion attempts to ramp up her return to tennis following a doping ban.

Also handed a wild card for qualifying at the first Major of the year in January in Melbourne is 16-year-old Cruz Hewitt, the son of Australia’s former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt.

The 33-year-old Romanian Halep was suspended in October 2022 and returned to the sport in March, after having her ban reduced from four years to nine months.

The former world No. 1 has denied knowingly doping.

“The thought of returning to Australia after three years is exciting and I’m very grateful to the tournament for this opportunity,” said Halep, now ranked 887th.

“I have been working hard to get ready for the 2025 season,” added the 2018 runner-up in Melbourne.

“The Australian Open has provided me with some of the best moments in my career, so I can’t wait to be back in Melbourne and playing in front of the Aussie fans.”

Nearly 30 years after his father qualified for his first Australian Open with a qualifying wild card, Cruz Hewitt will bid to do the same.

Final-round qualifiers will be played on Jan 9, with the main-draw action starting three days later. REUTERS, AFP

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