Semi-final Scores:
| Men’s Singles | ULINK(Charlie) 0 – 2 WCIS(Edan) | GHCIS(Simon) 1 – 2 SCLS(Ryan) |
| Women’s Singles | ULINK(Molly) 2 – 0 WCIS(Madelaine) | GHCIS(Shirley) 2 – 0 SCLS(Hazelle) |
| Mixed Doubles | ULINK(Charles & Amanda) 2 – 0 WCIS (Willian & Boyi) | GHCIE(Jessica &Terrence) 0 – 2 SCLS(Kevin & Ella) |
Final Scores:
For First Place
Men’s Singles | WCIS(Edan) 1 – 2 SCLS(Ryan) | ULINK(Charlie) 2 – 0 GHCIS(Simon) |
| Women’s Singles | ULINK(Molly) 0 – 2 GHCIS(Shirley) | WCIS(Madelaine) 2 – 0 SCLS(Hazelle) |
| Mixed Doubles | ULINK(Charles &Amanda) 2 – 0 SCLS(Kevin & Ella) | WCIS(Willian &Boyi) 0 – 2 GHCIE(Jessica & Terrence) |
Written by Jenny Li 李箴言 & Jeremy Zhang 张煜德
Edited by Kadien Hill
On November 2nd, Ulink launched its first tennis tournament and invited three teams from all over Shanghai: Guanghua Cambridge International School (GHCIS), Wellington College International Shanghai (WCIS), and Soong Ching Ling School (SCLS), to compete.
This successful tournament lasted about 6.5 hours, bringing us an incredible visual experience. Not to mention, Ulink’s spring recruitment was on the same day, making the atmosphere particularly lively. We guess good things do come in pairs！
In the first round, Charlie initially performed very well. But Edan from WCIS turned the tables on our player. Edan ultimately scored 2 points, beating Charlie and knocking him out of contention. First Place would go on to be decided between Edan and Ryan of SCLS, the winner of the other singles match against Simon from GHCIS.
In the afternoon, Ryan won the championship by one point over Edan. Charlie was able to turn his luck around and defeat Simon 2 points to nil. After the tournament, we had the opportunity to interview some of the athletes.
Ryan (SCLS), winner of Men’s Singles—
Q: Did you think that you would win the game?
A: Of course, I…thought about it. To give yourself confidence…you need to believe that you can do it well
Q: How do you feel about your performance in the tournament？
A: In the first set, my serve performance wasn’t the best, but I later adjusted it. At the same time, the opponent’s serve was also very good, which put me under a lot of pressure. However, I still won in the end, which made me very satisfied. In the second set, my serve improved…and in the end, I was able to get my mind right.
Q: Besides the serve mentioned earlier, is there anything else that you appreciated about the opponent?
A: Although he was a younger opponent…he was cool under pressure, whether he was really behind or in any situation, and his landing control was very good.
Q: What is your biggest gain from the competition?
A: When leading, one should not relax and take every ball seriously.
Charles from Ulink—
Q: May I ask how you recovered so quickly from the morning’s defeat?
A: In the morning, I wasn’t playing so hot, but in the afternoon, I put more emphasis… on defense, and the feeling…improved.
As for Women’s Singles, it was pretty impressive as well. In the semi-final, our player, Molly, defeated Madelaine of WCIS. But in the final against Shirley from GHCIS, she frequently made mistakes, one reason being “Reflected light,” Molly said. Madelaine, Molly’s previous opponent, went on to beat Hazelle from SCLS by 2 points. We had a quick Q&A with some of the participants—
Shirley Women’s Singles Champion from GHCIS—
Q: Before playing today, did you have any goals of winning a medal?
A: To be honest, I think it’s more important to participate.
Q: Do you have anything you want to say to your teammates and coach?
A: To be honest, our coach hasn’t taught us how to play tennis…I have been practicing for about four or five years.
Q: What were the biggest differences between the opponents in the morning and afternoon matches?
A: The opponent in the afternoon was noticeably stronger than in the morning. To be honest, it took a lot of effort to hit her ball.
Molly from Ulink—
Q: Do you have any goals of winning a medal?
A: I just want to finish in the top two. But it would be better if I won the championship. It would be incredibly exciting.
Q: What were the biggest differences between the opponents in the morning and afternoon matches?
A: The opponent from GHCIS served pretty fast.
Q: Do you have any advice for the school after this tournament?
A: The school should reduce the net between the halves of the court. It makes the serving area less clear to see.
The mixed doubles were also particularly exciting. In the morning, Amanda, the captain of the Ulink Tennis Team, and Charles defeated William and Boyi from WCIS in an impressive collaboration. They continued their momentum into the afternoon, defeating Kevin and Ella from SCL, winning the Mixed Doubles title.
Charles & Amanda, Winners of Mixed Doubles—
Q: Was there anything you learned from your opponents?
A: The opponents’ serves were good. It was often difficult to receive the ball from them.
Q: Is there anything you would like to improve in the future?
A: Charles—I need to practice my return serve. Amanda—I just want to practice more and more.
Q: Did you think you would win today?
A: Amanda—To be honest, no. I think the most important part is participating.
