Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Emma Raducanu greet fans on Chinese New Year
Tennis stars Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Emma Raducanu greeted fans on Chinese New Year, taking to social media on Tuesday to share their messages.
The Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year, marks the beginning of the calendar year based on moon cycles. It is a widely celebrated occasion in parts of east and southeast Asia. The 2022 Lunar New Year's Day, dubbed the Year of the Tiger according to Chinese zodiac signs, began on February 1.
Djokovic took to Twitter to wish a happy new year to his fans, using the English transliteration of the greeting in Mandarin.
"Xin Chun Kuai Le to everyone celebrating #LunarNewYear," the World No. 1 tweeted.
Xin Chun Kuai Le to everyone celebrating #LunarNewYear! ๐ฅณ๐งง #YearOfTheTiger #ChineseNewYear
Tsitsipas, on the other hand, posted the greeting directly in Mandarin on Twitter. He wrote "ๅ่ดข" , a colloquialism in the language that approximately translates to wishing someone good monetary fortune in the new year.
ๅ่ดข!
However, several users pointed out that he was missing the first two words of the phrase, thus leading to a confusion with the auto-translation.
it means wish you good monetary fortune, which is a normal thing we wish on Chinese NY@tennisemms No it's common ๐ it means wish you good monetary fortune, which is a normal thing we wish on Chinese NY
Raducanu's greeting was posted by British Airways on their official Instagram handle, since the 2021 US Open champion is one of their brand ambassadors. The teenager conveyed the greeting on this auspicious day in Manadarin to her fans and customers of the company.
"Hello, I want to wish all British Airways customers a Happy New Year and an auspicious Year of the Tiger!" Raducanu said.
Happy Chinese New Year ๐
Video from @British_Airways ๐ฌ๐งโ๏ธ
#EmmaRaducanu | #Raducanu https://t.co/Z14X09U09j
Novak Djokovic is into his 358th week as the World No. 1 thanks to Rafael Nadal's Australian Open triumph
Novak Djokovic's status as the World No. 1 was at risk due to his non-participation at the 2022 Australian Open. But thanks to Rafael Nadal's triumph at Melbourne Park, the Serb's grasp on top position has not yet been compromised.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion currently has a haul of 11,015 points while Daniil Medvedev is closest to him with 10,125 points. Since last year's Australian Open only concluded by mid-March, the ranking points from the tournament will not drop off until March this year.
Djokovic will lose 2000 points to end up with 9015 points while Medvedev will lose 1200 ranking points for a tally of 8925 points. The World No. 2 is scheduled to play at the Rotterdam Open (February 7-13) and the Acapulco Open (February 21-26). Meanwhile, the World No. 1's next scheduled stop is at the Dubai Tennis Championships (February 21-26).
Under these circumstances, Medvedev can become the World No. 1 if he wins the Rotterdam Open. Since it is an ATP 500 event, even reaching the semifinals (180 points) will be enough for the 2021 US Open champion to snatch top spot from the Serb.