On November 16, according to members of Zheng Qinwen's original fan group, Zheng Qinwen's official account has disbanded the fan group that can be linked to her Weibo homepage. Previously, Fan Zhendong, a player of the Chinese table tennis team, had closed his personal Weibo acco

On November 16, according to members of Zheng Qinwen ’s original fan group, Zheng Qinwen’s official account has disbanded the fan group that can be linked to her Weibo homepage. Previously, Chinese table tennis player Fan Zhendong had closed his personal Weibo account, and Chinese swimming team member Pan Zhanle had disbanded his Weibo fan group. Several athletes dared to draw a clear line with the "rice circle culture" at the peak of their sports careers and commercial values. In addition to blowing a breath of fresh air into the Chinese sports world, they also sounded a rallying call to real sports fans.

Screenshots posted online by members of Zheng Qinwen’s original fan group show that Zheng Qinwen’s official account has disbanded the Weibo fan group previously linked to Zheng Qinwen’s Weibo homepage on the 15th. It is understood that this fan group has been spontaneously created by Zheng Qinwen's fans for many years, and is associated with Zheng Qinwen's Weibo super chat and personal homepage. Some netizens expressed regret for Zheng Qinwen's behavior, but more netizens expressed understanding and support.

As the current number one player in China's women's tennis, Zheng Qinwen has been on the World Tour for three years, and her performance has improved every year. However, it was not until this year's Paris Olympics that Zheng Qinwen gained attention from a wider group of people besides tennis fans due to her performance in the women's singles tennis competition, and achieved "breaking the circle" of communication.

As Zheng Qinwen won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, her performance in the tour also attracted more attention. Zheng Qinwen has indeed set off another wave of tennis craze in China, with momentum comparable to that of Li Ting and Sun Tiantian who won the women's doubles gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, and Li Na who won the Grand Slam crown for the first time at the French Open.

Compared with the previous tennis celebrities, this wave of tennis craze has attracted the attention of the outside world, except for tennis, and basically stayed on Zheng Qinwen. This caused Zheng Qinwen's every move to be noticed, making her feel deeply nervous and exhausted. In the subsequent Chinese season, Zheng Qinwen stated many times that he had lost a lot of personal space and could no longer live the way he had before.

This year Zheng Qinwen continued his excellent form after the US Open, achieved his goal of reaching the year-end finals, and won the runner-up in his first appearance in the finals. During the game, Zheng Qinwen also showed his helplessness towards the fans' enthusiasm. During the game, Zheng Qinwen complained in the direction of the audience who continuously shouted "Come on Zheng Qinwen" and yelled: "Stop shouting!" Although she immediately apologized to the fans in the post-match interview, it could be felt that Zheng Qinwen was carefully exploring how to get along with her growing fan base.

How athletes deal with fans has always been a sensitive topic in the Chinese sports world. As early as the 1980s, Chinese high jump star Zhu Jianhua was insulted by letters sent by fans because of his mistakes in the game. According to Zhu Jianhua's later introduction, someone once sent him a rope or even a razor blade, which seriously affected Zhu Jianhua's normal life.

As China enters the mobile Internet era, the influence of athletes has been greatly expanded, and the fan culture familiar to athletes has been connected to the fan economic chain of the entertainment industry, driven by commercial interests. Suddenly, top athletes in table tennis, badminton, diving, swimming and other sports that are loved by the Chinese people have inexplicably gained "official fan groups" both online and offline. The organizer is not himself or a sports team, but under the banner of athletes, he calls on fans to join the club to "support" the athletes.

As fan culture continues to change to fandom culture, athletes have also received personal threats. Table tennis Olympic champion Fan Zhendong called the police on April 6, 2023, saying that someone had been following him for several days to confirm the hotel room number where he lived, and then obtained the room card through the hotel front desk and illegally invaded his room many times. Since then, Fan Zhendong temporarily closed his personal Weibo because he couldn't bear the disturbance to ensure that he had a quieter environment to prepare for the Paris Olympics.

After winning the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, swimming star Pan Zhanle, who became famous in one battle, also found that his every move would trigger discussions on the Internet. Pan Zhanle said bluntly: "Actually, I am still myself, and that's the bad thing about people becoming famous, too many people surround them.I hope to be more low-key and quiet. I would rather my results were not so good this time, so that I can continue to train hard with peace of mind. "

From Fan Zhendong, Pan Zhanle to Zheng Qinwen, they are saying no to the abnormal "rice circle culture" with their own actions. Athletes dare to challenge the "fan economy" that carries various interests at the peak of their sports and commercial value. "Say no, It means great courage and determination. I believe that more athletes will respond to the call and clearly express their attitude to the "fan circle culture" to help fans cool down and return sports to its proper temperature. It should be said that Zheng Qinwen was disbanded this time. The fan base, the rallying call to the fans who truly love tennis, sounded just right.

Text/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Chu Peng

editor/Xu Zhao