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Meet the Aussie who helped China fall in love with tennis

Meet the Aussie who helped China fall in love with tennis

China is obsessed with tennis as its next generation of stars aim to emulate the nation’s all-time best – Li Na – who was coached by a relatively unknown Australian back in the 1990s.

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Des Tyson might not be a household name in Australian tennis, but the right-hander from Griffith was there at the start of China’s 30-year love story with the sport.

Chinese fans packed the stands this week to catch a glimpse of teen prodigy Jerry Shang and top 15 women’s player Zheng Qinwen at the Australian Open in Melbourne.

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Gus McCubbingReporterGus McCubbing is a journalist at the Australian Financial Review in Melbourne. Connect with Gus on Twitter. Email Gus at gus.mccubbing@afr.com

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Original URL: https://www.afr.com/companies/sport/meet-the-aussie-who-helped-china-fall-in-love-with-tennis-20240115-p5exay