Chinese rising tennis star Juncheng Shang made some noise at the 2024 Australian Open as he reached the third round of the tournament and faced Carlos Alcaraz there.
The 18-year-old lefty turned heads with his dominant show in the first two rounds. While Shang beat Mackenzie McDonald in his opening-round match at the year’s first Grand Slam tournament, the 18-year-old beat India’s Sumit Nagal in the second round.
Although he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the third round, Shang impressed everyone with his skills. This performance at the 2024 Australian Open from the Chinese youngster created curiosity among the fans who wanted to know the back story.
Ranked 140 in the world (which he achieved during his stint at the Australian Open), Shang Juncheng is an emerging star in Chinese tennis. The youngster has shown exceptional skills so far and is expected to only get mature from hereon.
Shang Juncheng or Juncheng Shang is a tennis player from China who turned pro in 2021.
Born on February 2, 2005, Shang Juncheng is 18 years of age (as of 20 January 2024)/
The 18-year-old Chinese tennis player has not played much tennis so far. Shang Juncheng has played 19 matches so far on the tour in which he has won seven matches and lost 12. The 18-year-old is yet to win a title.
Shang Juncheng is a resident of Beijing, China.
Shang Juncheng was born to two athletes- Shang Yi, a former footballer, and Wu Na, a world championship-winning paddler (mixed doubles).
There is not much information available about Shang Juncheng’s girlfriend.
As the Chinese is new to the Tour, there are not too many endorsements for Shang Juncheng.
However, the 18-year-old is a brand ambassador of IMG Tennis.
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The Miami Dolphins need to make an attitude adjustment after their joint practice with the Chicago Bears at Halas Hall on Friday. Per Omar Kelly of the Miami Herald, the Bears' defense came out aggressive at the practice and took multiple cheap shots at Dolphins offensive players like wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, running back De'Von Achane and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Kelly claimed the Bears' defense tackled Tagovailoa multiple times on Friday, which goes against how most joint practices are conducted, where quarterbacks are protected. Kelly thinks the Dolphins coaching staff didn't stick up for their offensive players because they were afraid they'd help perpetuate their stigma of being soft. "What you gonna do ... You gonna cry about it and say, 'Hey, you're hitting me too hard.' Like, what do you do?" Kelly said on an episode of "Dolphins in Depth" on Saturday. "But it was dirty. It was, without a doubt. Tua was hit multiple times, put on the ground multiple times practice ... What are you going to do when you know your team's reputation, you know the world, the league perceives you as soft, and here you go." Kelly didn't like how the offense responded to the Bears' bullying of the offense, accusing Miami of folding before practice ended. "Now what I didn't like is, as you know if you're a Dolphin(s) fan, they get punched in the mouth, they fold," Kelly said. "They got punched in the mouth, and you watch them fold during the 11 on 11 periods in practice." The Dolphins needed to respond with likewise energy against the Chicago defense. Miami's coaching staff should be concerned the offense didn't want to fight back after watching Tagovailoa suffer multiple hits at a joint practice. By not complaining about the cheap shots and instead deciding to fold, the Dolphins chose to continue adding to the list of evidence that head coach Mike McDaniel's teams are soft.
When training camp started for the Las Vegas Raiders, they had a ton of depth all around the roster. But, after one week, they did a scrimmage, and that depth instantly went down. During the scrimmage, backup safety Lonnie Johnson Jr. got hurt and suffered an injury that is bound to keep him out for a while. Now, he will be back at some point, because, as head coach Pete Carroll said, the Raiders want and need him. So, they finally made a move in replacing him. The Raiders signed a guy who can give them some experience in a pretty young position group. Raiders sign safety Terrell Edmunds Terrell Edmunds played college football at Virginia Tech from 2015 to 2017, leading to his selection by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Edmunds spent five seasons with the Steelers from 2018–2022, playing 79 games, starting 75, and racking up 410 tackles, 5 sacks, five interceptions, and 26 passes defended. His best year was 2019 with 105 tackles. After the Steelers declined his fifth-year option, he re-signed for 2022 but moved on in 2023, playing for the Philadelphia Eagles and Tennessee Titans. In 2024, he briefly joined the Jacksonville Jaguars. Now, he’s been jumping from practice squad to practice squad, but is looking to be a depth piece on the Raiders. Edmunds adds a veteran pretense to a room that has Chris Smith and Trey Taylor, two young guys who have never really played a full-time role in the defensive backfield. If Isaiah Pola-Mao and Jeremy Chinn went down, those two would be next in line, with little to no experience. So, the Raiders quickly got on the phone with Lonnie Johnson Jr. went down, but are finally making a change to the roster, bringing depth and experience. This is a very solid signing for the new regime.
A recent trade pitch suggesting the Toronto Maple Leafs acquire Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell from the Pittsburgh Penguins is undeniably a bold and wild idea. With that in mind, it’s not the kind of trade that makes a ton of sense for Toronto, even if both players are legitimate goal scorers — especially considering what Toronto would have to give up to acquire both players. The likelihood that the Maple Leafs are seeking a trade for both wingers is low to begin with. That they’d be willing to part with a new trade acquisition, one of their more steady defensemen, a high-ceiling winger, and the team’s top prospect is an even more fascinating suggestion. Toronto Isn’t About To Abandon Their Game Plan The suggested trade was as follows: Maple Leafs Acquire: Bryan Rust ($5,125,000) Rickard Rakell ($5,000,000) Penguins Acquire: Nick Robertson ($1,825,000) Jake McCabe ($4,491,898) Matias Maccelli ($3,425,000) Easton Cowan ($873,500) While Rust and Rakell bring impressive goal-scoring credentials — combining for 66 goals last season — the Leafs have just added Matias Maccelli, a promising winger signed to what they hope is a value contract this offseason. On top of that, they’ve invested heavily in Jake McCabe on defense and have Easton Cowan, arguably their best prospect, waiting in the wings. Nick Robertson may be on the move, so his inclusion makes sense, but there’s been no suggestion, whatsoever, that the Leafs are open to moving any of the other three. No doubt, you have to give to get. That said, trading away these useful, cost-controlled assets for veterans like Rust and Rakell seems like a shortsighted mistake. Maccelli’s acquisition signals the Leafs are looking to build with youth, speed, and skill, while McCabe provides a steady defensive presence — something the Maple Leafs desperately need to maintain. Easton Cowan, meanwhile, presents arguably the best future replacement for the offensive output lost with Mitch Marner’s departure. Is There A World In Which Toronto Would Consider This Blockbuster Trade? Never say never. There is no doubt this would be a big swing by Toronto. And, it would add goal scoring in a significant way. That said, given the current roster construction, why would Toronto create obvious holes on their blue line, in the system, and move a player they believe could be a key offensive contributor in Maccelli? This would be GM Brad Treliving mortgaging everything on two Penguins players, who reportedly don’t want to go anywhere — one of whom has an eight-team no-trade clause. This trade screams 2025-25 Cup run, and an attempt to outscore other problems in the present day. Ultimately, this proposed trade serves as an interesting talking point, but it doesn’t quite pass the smell test for a Leafs team focused on a blend of youth and experience heading into the new season.
Most preseason game are ugly. You take a 90-man roster, mix it up and throw any 22 out on the field with pro experience levels of most players ranging from zero to a dozen games and it's not going to look pretty. For the Bears, add in a new coach, new systems and the fact that they didn't use almost all of their starters, and you have the makings of something no one would want to look at. It can get worse, too, and did. But there also were redeeming aspects to the Bears' preseason opening 24-24 tie. Here's the good, the bad and the ugly for the Bears' effort in their 2025 preseason opener, coach Ben Johnson's draw in his first head coaching experience. The Good The rookies They got 53 yards rushing on 13 carries from their two rookie backs, Kyle Monangai and Deion Hankins. They had the two longest Bears runs, a 13-yarder by Monangai and 12-yarder by Hankins. They also had a 4-yard TD catch by Hankins to go with nine catches by rookies total for 89 yards, including three for 41 and a TD by Jahdae Walker. That's 142 yards of offense and two TDs from rookie players, some drafted like Monangai with his 30 yards on six carries, and some undrafted like Hankins with his 23 yards on seven carries. The defensive front They held Dolphins rushers below 4.0 yards per carry while generating a pass rush that accounted for five of their six sacks. Dominique Robinson and Zacch Pickens added sacks to the three by Austin Booker a total of his that included a strip sack. This would be enough to satisfy any curmudgeon defensive coordinator but when you can push a team back 2 yards on second, third and fourth down from inside the 2-yard line, and get the goal-line stand from Noah Sewell, you've made a statement. But wait, there's more. They made the stand as backups and even some third-stringers against the Dolphins starters. A 67.0 Miami passer rating could be attributed largely to their front seven applying heat. Cairo Santos A 57-yard field goal into the wind stands out for any kicker except possibly Cam Little. Santos often gets tagged with having a weak leg even though set a franchise record last year by making 8-of-9 from 50 yards and out. Bears QBs Except for Tyson Bagent not seeing a wide-open Burden in the end zone on one pass play near the goal line, the Bears QBs had an efficient day combined with the spectacular. They had a 96.5 passer rating between the three. The 26 of 39 doesn't reach Ben Johnson's 70% goal but is a healthy 66.6%. The TD pass Bagent threw to Maurice Alexander and the TD thrown by Case Keenum to Jahdae Walker were on the money and actually in places where only they could make the catch. Jahdae Walker's end zone dance It was so much fun that Case Keenum said he was going to join in, and then realized who he was. The Bad Major Burns He suffered a major burn when he tried to step up and tackle Nick Westbrook-Ikhine in the second quarter and completely whiffed, allowing the catch to go on for 35 yards and set up the second Dolphins TD. Not the kind of instinctive play you'd like to see from a safety candidate. Penalties The seven flags against the Bears for 41 yards is no reason to celebrate, although it sure beat the heck out o the 10 for 68 on Miami. Jordan McFadden what are you thinking? He had a false start penalty with 16 seconds left coming out of a timeout with the ball at the Miami 41 and the Bears needing only about 2 or 3 yards to be in field goal range to win it. Bears kick coverage Richard Hightower has some work to do. The Bears special teams coordinator couldn't be pleased with a 41-yard kick return by Dee Eskridge, a 38-yarder by AJ Henning and a 37-yarder by Erik Ezukcanma. Bears punt coverage But wait, there's more. Eskridge made a 16-yard punt return and Malik Washington had a 19-yard punt return. Bears punting But wait, there's still more. Punter Tory Taylor had a case of the lows. He was hitting line drives that were easily returned. He averaged 34 yards net. The ugly Th final score A 24-24 tie. As ugly as this is, it could be worse. Before 2021, they would have been playing overtime. No one wants an overtime preseason game. Larry Borom He got a presnap penalty for illegal formation on the first play from scrimmage for Miami. Sure this column is supposed to be reserved for Bears plays and not Miami's, but hey, for old time's sake. How many times have we seen that?
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