Shang and Fils reflect on the influence of their sports parents | ATP Tour

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Shang and Fils reflect on the influence of their athletic parents

The two will play the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF starting Wednesday

December 17, 2024

It could be argued that Shang Juncheng was born to become an elite athlete.

The Chinese star has firmly established himself as one of the ATP Tour’s most promising talents, especially in 2024, during which he rose to a career-high No. 47 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Dealing with a meteoric rise can be difficult for any young person, but Shang has not one, but two former professional athletes on hand to offer sage advice: his parents, former soccer player Shang Yi and former table tennis player Wu Na.

“I think I am where I am because of them,” Shang told ATPTour.com on Tuesday in Jeddah ahead of the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, where he will compete as the fourth seed. “I think for every player, parents are the most important thing. At the end of the day, it’s the people around you: your team, your coach, your family; I think they are the most important for me.”

“They definitely have a very good understanding of what it’s like to be a professional athlete. We always have conflicts about things. It’s never perfect and there are sure to be ups and downs, but at the end of the day we try not to turn it into an argument. Rather we try to describe your own feelings and express how you feel on the court and what you need to improve. At the end of the day, it’s all about communication.”

Regular communication from a parent has also been vital to Arthur Fils’ development. The Frenchman may not have a father who played professional sports, but his father played basketball at a high level as a teenager. Jean-Philippe Fils passed on his competitive spirit to his son, who is now a Top 20 player at just 20 years old.

“It’s always been the same,” said Fils, Jeddah’s top seed, when asked about some key advice his father had given him for his tennis. “’Never give up, give 100 percent and we’ll see,’ and ‘you don’t come to the court to participate, you come to the court to win.’”

Both Fils and Shang have already done a lot of that. The Frenchman increased his tally of tour-level titles to three in 2024 with ATP 500 wins in Hamburg and Tokyo, while Shang forged a breakthrough in Chengdu, where he became the first Chinese player to win an ATP Tour title on his native soil. Even if after that important initial success it proves difficult, the 19-year-old knows that he can always fall back on a positive family environment.

“The most important thing is that they never pressured me, winning or losing,” Shang said. “It’s always part of the game, and as athletes I think they know it’s part of the game. Me having fun and giving 100 percent effort is all they wanted, even now that I turned pro last year. “They want me to enjoy it, in general, and have fun on the court.”

“One of the main pieces of advice they gave me is that I have to try to concentrate day after day. You don’t become an amazing player with just one practice. Other players work very hard every day to achieve their goals, their dreams. That’s what my parents tell me every day: ‘Hey, Jerry, you had a good day today, but the next day you have to do it again. Repeat it over and over again and you will be a better person and a better player.’”

There are many examples of children of athletes following in their fathers’ footsteps in the same sport: from NBA star Bronny James (son of LeBron James) to NFL stars Eli and Peyton Manning (sons of Archie Manning) and ATP Tour players like Casper Ruud and Sebastian Korda. Fils and Shang may not play the same sport as their respective fathers, but they still have first-hand experience of their abilities.

“[Mi padre] He played basketball until he was 18 years old. When he played, he was pretty good,” Fils said. “I never saw him play, but sometimes we go and play together. When we play, he sure wins at basketball. One hundred percent. I would say that my father is [físicamente] quite explosive, and I would say that I inherited that from him.”

“My parents play an important role in my development, without a doubt, perhaps the most important. Of course, on the court I am the one who plays and holds the racket, but they always support me and help me a lot. “They have an important role.”

Arthur Fils” style=”width: 100%;” src=”https://www.atptour.com/-/media/images/news/2024/12/17/14/48/fils-dad-basketball-2024.jpg”>

Jean-Philippe Fils and Arthur Fils playing basketball. Photo: Getty Images

Meanwhile, Shang recognizes that he cannot match his father in soccer, nor his mother in table tennis. However, he credits the time he spends playing with them as key to his competitive advantage.

“I have played soccer with my father and table tennis with my mother,” Shang said. “Obviously, I’m not as good as them. Against my mother, if I’m lucky, I win a point! Every player, every athlete, whatever sport you play, the goal is to win. Be the best player on the court or be the best in the world. I think that, in general, I inherited the style of competing from them.”