Unlikely pathway

Born into underprivileged circumstances in the remote Bortala Mongolian autonomous prefecture in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Bu learned how to ride horses long before he even had any clue of what tennis was. But his talent for the sport was discovered by Luo Yong, a junior tennis coach from Zhejiang province, who met the five-year-old Bu for the first time at an SOS children's village in Urumqi.

A three-year junior program at a club in Huzhou, Zhejiang province, saw Bu's innate gift flourish under the disciplined tutelage and caring support of Luo, who became an adopted father-figure, until the provincial team, overseen by his current coach Yu Jinxing, brought him into a more serious, full-time training program in 2011.

From there, Bu's evolving game and commitment to training began to convince his coaches, friends, and even opponents, that the prodigy would have a bright future on the pro circuit. This was evidenced by his strong junior performances, including an under-14 title he won at the prestigious Orange Bowl junior championships, and a second-round upset of Danish former world No 4 Holger Rune at the 2019 Australian Open boys' tournament.

"He always has a high standard himself for training and competition, asking even more of himself than what I would normally ask of him," coach Yu said of Bu's progress during the Hangzhou Open.

"He's strict with himself, always trying to achieve perfection. Whenever he doesn't reach his own standards, he starts over again. He's committed to achieving his goals."

The arrival of the pandemic, however, derailed Bu during his critical transition from junior events and the entry-level ITF adult circuit to the competitive ATP Tour, with a series of injuries also putting his rise on hold.

Adversity, however, only fueled him to make a sharper climb up the pro ranks when, returning to action healthy and motivated in 2023, he collected three entry-level ATP Challenger titles, all paving the way to stealing the show at the start of this year's China swing.

"I've never felt so confident in myself, having exceeded my own expectations so far. Yet, I knew I had to stay focused and take care of business on a daily basis," Bu said after defeating Russian world No 6 Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals at the China Open on Monday.

The straight-sets upset of Rublev, who holds 16 ATP singles titles, was Bu's first career win over a top-10 opponent and built quickly on his first defeat of a top-20 opponent, Italy's 18th-ranked Lorenzo Musetti, in the second round.

"Perhaps it's time for me to readjust my goals and set a higher target," said Bu, who had climbed to No 69 on ATP's live rankings by the end of his China Open campaign.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn