Now that I've been reborn, I have to play tennis!

Chapter 48: Dedicating the Championship Trophy to His Alma Mater

When Meng Hao returned home, his parents were overjoyed to see their son return with the trophy, and they prepared a table full of dishes.

However, what the parents care about most is whether this championship can guarantee their son admission to a top university.

Bonuses and the like are secondary.

The levels of tennis competitions are too complex to be easily understood unless you are a long-time fan.

Meng Hao wanted to explain to his parents, but he didn't know how to start.

This is his first bonus, and it's very meaningful.

Although his parents refused, Meng Hao persisted and used part of the prize money from the competition to buy a new color TV for the family and a set of clothes for each of his parents.

The remaining money was enough for him to live on for a while.

However, Meng Hao repeatedly reminded them that this was just a very ordinary little competition and there was no need to brag about it to their relatives.

“You can treat us to a meal when your son is guaranteed admission to a top university!” he emphasized.

As for which key university it is?

Although Meng Hao didn't say it explicitly, his goal was clear: either Zhejiang University, Fudan University, or Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Even if we can't meet the requirements now, we will meet them someday.

……

What does it mean to win a 25K clay court tennis championship?
Perhaps it only has a tiny bit of significance for Chinese men's tennis, but for the entire Chinese tennis world, it seems insignificant.

However, for amateur tennis players, this championship is indeed very prestigious and unattainable.

Shortly after Meng Hao returned to school, he received a call from Shen Dongguo.

"Dude, that's awesome!" His voice was filled with excitement. "When my little sister first told me you won the championship, I thought she was talking in her sleep!"

"You are truly a clay court genius!"

Meng Hao replied with a smile, "CCTV calls me the Little Prince of Red Clay!"

Shen Dongguo said in a serious tone, "Actually, I think I also deserve credit, after all, it was I who suggested that you participate in the youth competition."

"Yes, that definitely owes a debt to Brother Dong!" Meng Hao also gave him a compliment.

After all, that guy has been playing tennis since elementary school, so he must be a rich kid. It's always good to build a good relationship with him.

Meng Hao is a professional, so his judgment is definitely correct. Shen Dongguo's tennis talent is indeed quite good. Perhaps his family is relatively wealthy and he couldn't endure the hardship, so he didn't pursue a professional athletic career.

There are plenty of people in this world with tennis talent, but the odds of becoming a tour-level player are about the same as winning the lottery – it's incredibly difficult.

Shen Dongguo was happy to reign supreme in the amateur tennis world, and then use tennis as a medium to flirt with all sorts of young ladies and girls.

“Brother, you know I’m involved in the amateur tennis circles of Donghai City and Ningzhou City!” Shen Dongguo’s voice came out slowly and deliberately. “Normally, no one would pay attention to the level of competition you’re playing in. But this time, because of me, everyone is talking about your name.”

"Brother Dong, this is an exaggeration!" Meng Hao said with a wry smile. "You amateur tennis pros are all so arrogant, aren't you only talking about Grand Slams?"

"Good lad, you're quite the witty one! By the way, do you have any sponsors yet?" Shen Dongguo said with a laugh, then changed the subject and asked.

"No!" Meng Hao immediately denied. "With my achievements, which sponsor would even look at me?"

"Uh... how should I put it?" Shen Dongguo paused, organizing his thoughts slightly, "Brother, the waters in this circle are indeed a bit deep. Normally, it would be difficult for a 25K champion to attract sponsors, but yours is clay, so it's a bit different."

"I estimate that the sponsors are still taking a wait-and-see approach."

"Okay, I'm still in Donghai City right now. I'll come to your school to find you this afternoon."

Meng Hao nodded and replied, "Okay, see you this afternoon!"

After hanging up the phone, he stroked his chin, lost in thought. Firstly, the current performance of women's tennis in China is so outstanding that it attracts a lot of attention. In comparison, men's tennis receives far less attention.

Secondly, sponsors' money doesn't come from thin air and can't be spent recklessly.

After all, not everyone is like Guangzhou Evergrande in the football world, burning through money meant for mortgage slaves!
Globally, let alone the Hope Series champions, even Challenger Series champions, disappear after playing for a few years, fading into obscurity.

Tennis, as the world's first individual sport, is highly competitive, which also leads to a great deal of unpredictability.

Moreover, Meng Hao has no background with the sports bureau.

Sponsors might give players some sponsorship fees as a token gesture out of respect for the sports bureau, but this doesn't apply to Meng Hao.

Think about the future...

Wu Yibing won the US Open junior championship, and his mother complained that getting sponsorships was extremely difficult; Zheng Qinwen's junior results have always been in the top 5, and her talent is obvious, so her father has to sell the house to support her.

The path to professional tennis is indeed difficult...

"I'm not in a hurry! I'll take it one step at a time. As long as I have the strength, the doors to the tour will naturally open!"

Meng Hao told himself, "This industry is very complex, but what does it have to do with me?"

On Monday morning, he rested and recharged, and arrived at school leisurely around 9:30 a.m.

Students are free to arrange their own time during their time at school; this is a privilege granted by the principal.

After all, it is unprecedented for a high school student to win an international professional tennis championship.

“Principal, I dedicate this championship trophy to my alma mater.” Meng Hao carried the championship trophy to Donghai No. 2 Middle School and even sought out Principal Tang. “I hope this championship trophy can be placed in the honor room of the school’s sports department.”

Principal Tang was also surprised: "Xiao Meng, are you serious? This is a championship you worked so hard to win."

He had also been secretly following information about that final match.

They played from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m., and this championship was hard-won.

"It doesn't matter. Even if it's placed in the school's hall of fame, it's still a championship I won, so there's no difference," Meng Hao said calmly. "I want to share this honor with the school."

What a good student! This is truly a good student; you definitely deserve a place among this year's school's top three students.

In Meng Hao's opinion, only the tour championship can be considered a true tennis champion, while championships below the tour level are not very meaningful.

He didn't care about the championship trophy; he'd rather do a favor and leave it at the school.

Although Donghai No. 2 Middle School is a key middle school, it also recruits some students with special athletic talents.

The school's sports department's hall of honor displays trophies from various provincial and municipal competitions, primarily from the track and field and basketball teams.

A champion like Meng Hao in international professional tennis tournaments is truly exceptional and stands out from the crowd.

After leaving the principal's office, Meng Hao spent the entire morning jogging on the track and field, mainly to recover his physical strength.

At this moment, Shen Rongyu, who was sitting by the window, was somewhat absent-minded during class, and would occasionally glance at the figure jogging slowly on the playground.

She used to have no interest in tennis, but recently she's been researching a lot about tennis and has a general understanding of the value of Meng Hao's championship.

"I only saw the glory of Na Jie, Zheng Jie and others, but I never imagined that the world of professional tennis would be so tough." Shen Rongyu rested her chin on her hand, lost in thought.

Among professional tennis players, 70% play in lower-level prospective tournaments, 20% play in challenger tournaments for a long time, and only 10% can consistently participate in tour events. Moreover, many of these 10% play both challenger and tour events.

"I hope he can continue to improve! Because, he's already..." Shen Rongyu glanced at the empty seat out of the corner of her eye, "He's been skipping classes for a long time. If he wants to come back to study, he'll fall behind!"

At that moment, English teacher Yu Fang also noticed Shen Rongyu's actions and couldn't help but frown.

……

(End of this chapter)