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 Immigs set to root on rising compatriots at the U.S. Open
BY PAUL H.B. SHIN
DAILY NEWS WRITER
They may never be the No. 1 tennis players in the world, but they've already won the hearts of New Yorkers who want to cheer for natives of their homelands.
International stars like Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand, Na Li of China and Sania Mirza of India are changing the face of professional tennis. And in the process, they are attracting hordes of fervent new fans.
"It's very inspiring and also very exciting to watch, because some of these players came out of nowhere and now they've moved up pretty high in the rankings," said Byron Yu, 50, an accomplished amateur and former president of the Chinese American Tennis Society of New York.
Yu's group is just one of a number of ethnic tennis associations planning to make a strong showing in the stands at the U.S. Open in Flushing, Queens, which starts on Monday.
"We wouldn't miss it for the world," said George Duangmanee, 35, president of the Thai Tennis Organization in America.
Duangmanee and his gleeful compatriots have been a visible presence whenever Srichaphan - currently ranked 43rd in the world - plays stateside.
Srichaphan's popularity has inspired a new crop of tennis aficionados to express nationalist pride in him with Thai flags and thundering "bam bam" sticks - in between points, of course.
"I don't play tennis, but I still go to cheer," said Pasinee Sakayawonk, a Bronx nurse.
The reputation of Srichaphan's supporters has reached the ears of executives at the U.S. Tennis Association, which runs the Open. "Talk about great, intense, exciting fans - Srichaphan supporters are fantastic," said Chris Widmaier, senior director of communications for the USTA.
"New York is probably the most culturally diverse city in the U.S.," Widmaier said. "So when you couple that with players coming from more than 60 countries, you can see these pockets of activity to support the various athletes."
"Tennis is still a little bit inaccessible to the masses. It's a pretty expensive sport to get into," said Sonia Sekhar, 20, a junior at Barnard College who runs the Indian Tennis Association with her parents.
But having role models such as Mirza - a Muslim ranked 44th in the world - has been a tremendous inspiration, Sekhar said.
"When she's out on the court, there's a lot of Indian pride," Sekhar said. "She's definitely spurred an interest in tennis in a lot of Indians."
In a nod to diversity, the USTA recently moved its annual draw ceremony to the United Nations headquarters in Manhattan.
Commentator and U.S. Davis Cup team captain Patrick McEnroe, who attended Wednesday's draw, noted this is the first time that two Chinese women - Li and Jie Zheng - have been seeded at the Open.
The USTA estimates that in 2005, 10% of recreational tennis players were black, 14% Latino and 2% Asian - a marked increase from a decade ago. The diverse fan base has been credited with breathing new life into the sport. The U.S. Open set an all-time attendance record last year with more than 659,000 tickets sold.
Originally published on August 25, 2006
[แสดงความเห็น? | ส่งให้เพื่อนอ่าน | หน้าสำหรับพิมพ์]
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| ข้อมูลเชื่อมโยงที่เกี่ยวข้อง |
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| City's native pride for some new aces | เรียกเข้าระบบ หรือ ลงทะเบียน | 0 ความเห็น |
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