APAs and Asians Cause A Racket at U.S. Open
August 31, 2007
Keep an eye out for Asian American and Asian tennis players joining top-ranked players from around the world at the U.S. Open in New York through September 9.
Meilen Tu of Porter Ranch, Calif., ranked No. 35 in the world by the Women’s Tennis Association, is playing in the main draw, while Lilia Osterloh (No. 81) of San Francisco is playing in the doubles competition.
Kevin Kim (No. 171) of Newport Coast, Calif., and Rajeev Ram (No. 205) from Carmel, Ind., recently played in New York for a qualifier spot, but both lost in the first round.
Singles-ranked No. 28 Ai Sugiyama from Japan, Zi Yan (No. 78) of China and India’s Leander Paes (doubles No. 8), head a group of 10 players from China, India, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Thailand .
Here is a closer look at the Asian American and Asian competitors at this year’s U.S. Open.
MEILEN TU: Since turning pro in 1994, 29-year-old Tu has played in singles and doubles competitions at all Grand Slams: Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. She made her Grand Slam debut in 1994 in her third pro tournament. Her best Grand Slam showing was a third round finish in 2002 at Wimbledon. She holds a 2001 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles win in Auckland, as well as four ITF Women’s Circuit singles titles.
Before Tu turned pro, she upset Martina Hingis to win the Juniors’ 1994 U.S. Open. She was named 1994 Tennis magazine Junior Female Player of the Year and was ranked among the U.S. top 10 junior players from 1991 to 1993.
Her parents, Ching and Mei Tu, are from Taiwan, and Tu has said her father, who passed away in 1999, serves as her inspiration. Meilen means “beautiful” in Mandarin, which she speaks fluently.
Born in Tarzana, Calif., and residing in Porter Ranch, Calif., Tu was given a spot as a wild card by the United States Tennis Association.
LILIA OSTERLOH: Filipino American Osterloh, 29, was born in Columbus, Ohio, and resides in San Francisco. Her parents are Linus, a retired teacher, and Yolanda, who immigrated from the Philippines. Although Osterloh lost in the first qualifying rounds in New York, she will play doubles in the U.S. Open.
Osterloh has competed in all Grand Slam singles and doubles competitions since 1997, when she turned pro. Her best showings were fourth round finishes in 2000 at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
She has three singles and six doubles ITF Women’s Circuit titles, including this year’s ITF/Monzon-Spain singles and ITF/Sea Island-Georgia doubles with Raquel Kops-Jones in April.
Osterloh won the 1997 NCAA singles title as a freshman at Stanford University and was named All American in singles and doubles.
She also won the national collegiate team title. She was named Tennis magazine/Rolex College Player of the Year for 1997.
FROM ASIA: Eight women and two men from Asia will compete in the singles championship at the U.S. Open.
Thirty-two-year-old Ai Sugiyama is Japan’s tennis star; number 28 in the world, she is slated to play at the U.S. Open.
Sugiyama holds six singles titles and 34 doubles titles and is also a 1999 U.S. Open mixed-doubles winner with Mahesh Bhupathi. Having competed in all the Grand Slams since 1993, her best showing was the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 2004. She is coached by her mother Fusako.
China’s Zi Yan bested her competitors during the qualifying rounds and is among the coveted few who will play in the main draw.
Twenty-three-year-old Yan is from Chendu, China. Ranked No. 78, she has played in all Grand Slams since 2003, having won the doubles titles in 2006 at the Australian Open and Wimbledon with Zheng. She holds one singles title and 10 doubles titles.
India’s pride Leander Paes, with Martin Damm of the Czech Republic, is the defending U.S. Open doubles champions and has a doubles ranking of eight.
Thirty-four-year-old Paes was born in Calcutta and spends his time between there and Orlando, Fla. He turned pro in 1991 and has played in all Grand Slams, winning doubles titles at Roland Garros (1999, 2004), Wimbledon (2004) with Bhupathi and the U.S. Open (2006) with Damm.
For more info: www.usopen.org.
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Marilyn:
Nice coverage. I’m linking to it.
[…] WILD CARD ENTRANT Meilen Tu, 29, of Porter Ranch, Calif., teamed with Japan’s Akiko Morigami to score first- and second-round wins in women’s double competition now ongoing at the U.S. Open in Flushing, N.Y. Tu was beaten in a close first-round women’s singles match by Israel’s Shahar Peer, 6-4, 7-6. The mixed doubles pairing of Tu and France’s crafty Fabrice Santoro was beaten in the first round by American Mike Bryan and Australian Alicia Molik. Asian American men Kevin Kim and Rajeev Ram were beaten in qualifying matches. Lilia Osterloh lost to the Ukrainian Tatiana Perebiynis in three sets in her qualifier. Marilyn Abalos profiled the Asian American tennis stars for AsianWeek. […]