Wu Yibing of China hits a return during the men's singles first round match against Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain (not in photograph) at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, May 29, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BERLIN - China's rising tennis star Wu Yibing is wearing a smile as always. Even now, he is still covered in sweat after competing at the ATP250 Stuttgart Boss Open and sitting in a tiny unadorned room used for interviews.

Despite that things didn't go too well for the 23-year-old in the second round against Marton Fucsovics in three sets 4-6, 6-4, 4-6, the Hangzhou natives' mood didn't seem to have suffered.

His trip to Stuttgart can be seen as a success with his first round victory over World number 30, Australian Nick Kyrgios, also his first win on grass as a professional player.

Without surprise, Wu set ambitious goals for the remaining 2023 season.

We didn't have a top-100 (male) player before Zhang Zhizhen and me ... Winning a tournament greatly impacts young Chinese boys, I guess. We might have a promising young generation of players in China, but they are mainly girls inspired by Li Na.

Wu Yibinh, Chinese professional tennis player

"This year I want to get to the top thirty. I think that is an inspiring goal for me as to be on the tour at all is already special," the number 64 ranked told Xinhua in an interview.

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Wu mentioned the progress in Chinese tennis as noteworthy aside from announcing not having reached his limits yet.

"We didn't have a top-100 (male) player before Zhang Zhizhen and me," added Wu, who became the first Chinese mainland player to win an ATP tournament in Dallas in February while Zhang is the highest ranked Chinese male singles player now, at 56th.

"Winning a tournament greatly impacts young Chinese boys, I guess. We might have a promising young generation of players in China, but they are mainly girls inspired by Li Na," he said.

Wu spoke about him feeling the obligation to help develop tennis talents in China by gaining success. Especially when the "China season" is coming, he hopes their good performances can inspire young talents and trigger their motivation and confidence.

READ MORE: Wu finally cracks clay to continue inexorable rise

"It most likely will produce progress as we have a lot of local fans who can watch on the CTA tour. To be a good example for young kids, people will get to know tennis better as they recognize us and watch our games," he said.