Who would still play tennis after being reborn?

Chapter 129 A Brief Return to China
Yu Haoyang still chose to give up the singles final. For him, winning the runner-up position was enough to get him into the top 200, and with the doubles championship, he could even get into the top 150, which would qualify him for the Australian Open Junior Championships qualifying tournament.

Of course, this isn't the only reason.

More importantly, he knew that even if Gu Cheng didn't use any ball skills, his chances of winning wouldn't exceed 10%.

Instead of wasting time, it's better to end the game directly.

However, his actions left many media outlets that made predictions before the match speechless.

Everyone thought this double-Chinese final would be exciting. Yu Haoyang, who made it to the final of the Bellevue Cup, was qualified to have a close match with Gu Cheng, who didn't rely on his skills.

After everyone had been waiting for ages, the news they received was that Yu Haoyang had withdrawn from the competition, which almost made the news editors who had already written articles predicting the outcome of the match spit out blood.

"Withdrawal from the match? What's going on?" A sports reporter looked at the news notification on his phone, looking bewildered.

My colleague next to me shook his head and sighed, "It's over, our editor's article, 'Yu Haoyang vs. Gu Cheng: A Clash of Youths, Who Will Reach the Top,' is only half finished..."

Before the match even started, the stands were already packed with people, all eagerly awaiting what the media had touted as a "peak showdown between prodigies." But when the broadcast announced that Yu Haoyang had withdrawn from the match due to injury, the entire stadium erupted in uproar.

Some shook their heads in disappointment, some whispered among themselves, and a few die-hard fans even got up and left. Fortunately, the organizers had received prior notice and hadn't charged for tickets; otherwise, the fans might have been furious.

After receiving the trophy, Yu Haoyang was sitting in his hotel room scrolling through his phone. Seeing "Yu Haoyang withdraws from the competition" trending on social media, he smiled slightly and posted a Weibo message:
"Save your energy."

This post on his WeChat Moments was quickly flooded with likes from his fans.

However, not everyone can understand this "rational choice".

At the post-match press conference, a reporter couldn't help but ask Yu Haoyang: "Isn't it disrespectful to your opponent to give up the singles final? After all, with your current strength, you should be able to put on a great match even if Gu Cheng doesn't use his skills."

Yu Haoyang smiled faintly and asked in return, "Is it respectful to knowingly play when you know you're going to lose?"

He paused, his tone calm yet tinged with coldness, "Tennis is not a performance, it's a competition. Everyone has their own goals and choices. Rather than wasting time playing a match where the outcome is already known, it's better to end it now and wait for the Australian Open Junior Championships."

This statement did not quell the doubts from the outside world.

Ultimately, whether Gu Cheng's fans or Yu Haoyang's fans win the championship is not important.

The important thing is that they can watch one more of Gu Cheng's matches.

On social media platforms, discussions about whether Yu Haoyang is afraid of the challenge are intensifying.

Some criticized him for lacking fighting spirit: "If he doesn't even dare to face challenges, what is he talking about in the junior Australian Open?"

Some people expressed their understanding: "Professional tennis is not a game of showing off strength. Points and rankings are the real deal. After playing doubles with Gu Shen, Yu Haoyang's ranking has been rising day by day. After the singles final, his ranking directly broke into the top 150, and he successfully obtained a qualifying spot for the Australian Open Junior Championships."

Some even pointed the finger at Gu Cheng: "He has both skill and talent, so why not just give him the championship?"

Gu Cheng didn't care about this at all; he just kept his head down and continued training until he broke his physical limits.

Even so, the sports channel, also known as "Fifth Sister," still gave Gu Cheng extremely high attention, posting a special message of blessing on its official Weibo account:

#Congratulations to our player Gu Cheng for winning the Bellevue Cup and breaking into the ITF Junior Circuit top 100, currently ranked 81st. Congratulations also to our player Yu Haoyang for breaking into the top 200, currently ranked 151st. Both players have secured their spots in the Australian Open Junior Championship qualifiers. We hope they continue their efforts and achieve even better results in the upcoming competitions.#
[666, it has to be Gu Shen! CCTV even personally came out to congratulate him.]

[Even CCTV probably didn't expect Gu Shen to rise so quickly. Just over two months ago, he was playing amateur tournaments at home, and in the blink of an eye, he's broken into the top 100 of the ITF Junior Circuit.]

[Gu Shen is still terrifyingly strong even without any skills, but I still prefer seeing him use his skills to bully others.] [Yu Haoyang is that good? He's already in the top 200? I'd never heard of him before.]

[Is this your first time watching? Don't you know that my brother Haoyang's ranking and strength have skyrocketed since he got on Gu Shen's good side?]

Regardless of whether Yu Haoyang has latched onto a powerful backer, this guy is undeniably hardworking. His strength has increased so much in less than three months, which is largely due to his consistent effort.

I went to watch the Bellevue Cup doubles final. If Gu Shen didn't use his skills, their doubles match would have been unwatchable; they had absolutely no teamwork, and they barely scraped by before winning the doubles championship.

Regardless of whether they cooperated or not, just tell me if they're the doubles champions!

[The key issue is that the doubles matches at the Bellevue Cup were already fraught with difficulties; what will happen at the junior Australian Open?]

That's terrifyingly strong!

……

Three days after the competition ended, Yu Haoyang booked the two of them's tickets back to China and their return journey.

The two players only have three months of tournament visas. Although there is still time, it is simply not enough for them to finish the junior Australian Open.

The Australian Open junior singles tournament has a total of 128 slots, including 104 main draw slots, 16 qualifying slots, and 8 wildcard slots.

In other words, there are 64 slots in the men's singles draw, which will significantly lengthen the tournament schedule. With his wins in both the singles and doubles at the Bellevue Cup, Gu Cheng has successfully broken into the top 100.

However, only the top 50 players in the junior Australian Open have a confirmed draw, and the remaining spots need to be determined through qualifying rounds. As a result, the two players had to return to their home countries early to deal with visa issues.

Gu Cheng and Yu Haoyang were both looking forward to returning to China to renew their visas.

Especially Gu Cheng, he had never been away from home for such a long time before, and he had been abroad for nearly three months.

Yu Haoyang is much better off. After all, he started competing in ITF junior tournaments a few years ago, and he is used to this kind of thing because he often travels abroad.

However, it would be good to be able to go back to China for a few days to spend with family.

"Dad, Mom!"

As soon as he emerged from the terminal at Lishe Airport, the sharp-eyed Gu Cheng spotted Gu Zhenhai and Yuan Hongxia, who were already waiting at the exit.

He had mentioned his return to China to Gu Zhenhai two days in advance, and Yuan Hongxia said she would come to pick him up at the airport. Gu Cheng would never refuse his parents' kindness, so he immediately agreed.

After Gu Cheng became famous, Gu Zhenhai and Yuan Hongxia's lives also improved a lot.

Now, whenever either of them needs to ask for leave, the factory and the hospital respond very quickly, without even bothering to ask what they're going to do.

Not to mention that the two of them came specifically to pick up Gu Cheng, so they readily agreed.

no way.

Gu Cheng is now a darling of the central government; who wouldn't give him some face?

(End of this chapter)