An interesting soul from France: Terence Atmana will make his Wuxi tennis debut

The Wuxi Open tennis tournament will kick off during the May Day Golden Week, which will be upgraded to the ATP CH100 level this year, attracting men's tennis stars from more than 20 countries and regions, including 23-year-old French player Terence Atmane, who has reached the No. 118 ranking in the world. He is not only a rising star of the French men's tennis team, but also deeply attracts the attention of many fans because of his personality charm and unique temperament.

China is his blessed land

An indissoluble bond with the land of China

Born on January 9, 2002 in Saint-Martin-Boulogne, France, the left-hander has been playing tennis for more than a decade since he picked up a racket at the age of seven, and has grown into one of the continent's most promising men's tennis stars. Atmana currently holds three Challenger titles, the most recent of which came in Busan in April, while his first two were won in China.

Terence Atmane/Guangzhou Nansha International Challenger

In the autumn of 2023, the Frenchman won back-to-back titles in Zhangjiagang and Guangzhou in less than a month, and has been soaring in the rankings ever since. Atmana saved six match points in a hard-fought three-set battle with China's Sun Fajing in the first round of the Zhangjiagang Challenger before saving three championship points against Marc Polman in the title match at the Guangzhou Challenger.

Atmana then made his ATP Tour debut in China. In September 2023, he qualified for the men's singles main draw at the ATP 250 Zhuhai Tennis Championships, where he lost in three sets in the first round to eventual runner-up Yoshihito Nishioka. In October, Atmana broke through from the qualifying round at the ATP1000 Shanghai Masters to secure a place in the men's singles main draw, and defeated Australia's Thompson in the first round in three sets to claim his first ATP Tour main draw victory. The French rookie unlocked the "first" experience of his career step by step in the land of China, and it is natural to regard China as his "blessed land". In addition, Atmana has a special love for Chinese culture, and he often refers to going to China to participate in training and competitions as "coming home".

Credit: Guangzhou Nansha International Challenger

Lovers of East Asian culture

Pokémon fanatics

Atmana is a true fan of Asian culture, with animation, comics and video games being his greatest passions. In fact, if it weren't for video games, he probably wouldn't have become a professional tennis player. As a child, he was exposed to and immersed in Virtua Tennis and Wii Sports, which opened the door to the world of tennis.

Atmana is also an avid Pokémon card collector, having started his Pokémon collection in 2007 at the age of 5, and now has one of the largest Pokémon card collections in France. Atmana has also been planning to showcase his collection in the form of short videos on social media, and now he has a personal social media account dedicated to Pokémon card information.

"When I was a kid, I watched Pokémon on TV, and people used to talk about these cards at school, and it was very popular at that time, and I remember playing with my friends as a kid. Slowly, I started collecting these cards, and I still have them from my childhood. ”

The "magician" on and off the field

Passion and humility go hand in hand

Atemana was born in a small French town full of charm and romance, but his tennis idol is the fierce former tennis player Fernando Gonzalez, known as the "Chilean artillery", and Gonzalez, who has a fierce forehand and is one of the most watched players in men's tennis history.

Under the influence of his idol, Atmana also has a passionate and powerful style of play, and his burly height of 193 cm gives him excellent serve and firepower attacking ability, as well as delicate skills in front of the net. It is worth mentioning that Atmana is particularly good at playing card magic, which is also the origin of his nickname "magician", and his style of play is also as gorgeous as a magic show.

"I like to play every shot with all my might, I want to take every opportunity in front of me, and when the opponent doesn't hit the depth enough, I always give it my all and try to get the winning point." Atmana is well aware of the strengths of his style of play, "Every time I serve, I try to make the fastest speed, and my forehand is very ferocious...... It also comes with a certain amount of risk-taking, and my style of play is very high-intensity, both physically and mentally. ”

Atmana has been documenting his rise in the rankings on social media, calling his progress "brick by brick." Atmana has a great deal of respect for the court and for his opponents: in the second round of the Rome Masters in 2024 against Lorenzo Musetti, Atmana won the first set before Musetti withdrew. After the match, he raised his hands above his head to signal the crowd to applaud Musetti as he was exiting, and expressed his wish for the Italian's speedy recovery in an interview and personal social media sharing.

This coming May, Terence Atmana will make his debut at the Wuxi International Tennis Center and challenge for another major title in his career.

Fan Message

On the journey of chasing dreams, the support of fans is always the strongest backing. Recently, the organizing committee received a special message from the fans, let's take a look at what Terence's fans have to say to him.

"Terence, every time I see you at the stadium, I am struck by your warmth and kindness towards the fans. Win or lose, you're always happy to interact with people who come to support you and bring warmth to everyone. I hope you can get better and better, break through the top 100 as soon as possible, and gain the care and love of more fans. ”

Now, let's pass on this blessing to Terence - looking forward to him in Wuxi Station full firepower, prove himself with strength, and ignite the arena with love, you will never be fighting alone!

Time/place of the competition

The name of the event

Xindu Real Estate Wuxi Tennis Open

Game time

May 4 - May 11

Venue of the competition

Wuxi International Tennis Center - Huafa Center Court, outdoor No. 1/No. 4 court