GUANGZHOU - A senior tennis coach has warned against China's current trend of sending promising young players to overseas academies.

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Allan Ma, a Chinese-American better known in China as Ma Weikai, believes good coaching is more significant than counting on for-profit training organizations.

"Going to those overseas tennis academies is not necessarily better. The most important thing is to find the right coaches and places to train," said Ma, who trains Chinese veteran Peng Shuai.

He also manages Yang Tsung-hua, the former men's junior world No 1 from Chinese Taipei.

Tennis is on the rise in China thanks to its internationally acclaimed women's players, including Grand Slam semifinalists Li Na and Zheng Jie. Many parents are keen on sending their children to overseas tennis academies, hoping to help their kids grow into the next Maria Sharapova or Roger Federer.

However, Ma, who owns a tennis academy in the US, believes China currently provides a top-notch training environment for elite players, especially on the women's side. He feels youth prospects should use those facilities before considering going abroad.

"Just think about the male players who trained with China's top women's players. You may not find the same situation in overseas tennis academies," he said.

To back up his point about coaching, he pointed to Li's performances. She became more consistent once she regularly worked with Swedish coach Thomas Hogstedt, who previously trained now-world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki.

On the men's side, though, Ma said it was a different story. He urged them to go overseas and connect with the international community.

"Chinese girls can train with their male counterparts for improvement, but the men's players need to train with higher-level players overseas," he said.

He cited Yang as a successful example. The 19-year-old has often been invited to train with established ATP Tour players such as James Blake, John Isner and Andy Roddick.

Bai Yan, the world No 354 who upset former top 10 player Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic at last month's Shanghai Masters, could enjoy similar fortune. He has been invited to train next month with Australian coach Bob Brett, who currently works with Croatian star and former world No 9 Marin Cilic.

"All the Chinese men's players need is experience. They have a lot of potential," Ma said.

He also has high expectations of China's tennis future, saying, "The Chinese Tennis Association is taking a very open attitude now. That's very important."

China Daily

(China Daily 11/17/2010 page12)