There are certain athletes who manage to look so stylish and graceful while still competing with a killer instinct that their elegance transcends the contest to also become a performance of artistic beauty.
Tennis player Roger Federer is a prime example. So too basketball player Michael Jordan, golfer Tiger Woods and boxer Muhammad Ali. All had the ability to compete with incredible athletic elegance while being aggressive or executing complex technical skills. That rare ability to make the difficult look easy.
These outstanding athletes also share another thing in common, all are generally regarded as the best ever within their sports. Yet interestingly, none holds the record for the most Grand Slams, NBA titles, Majors, or World Title defences.
There is, therefore, a difference between the most “successful” and the “best” when judging sporting status.
Like all these athletes Tai Tzu Ying was athletic elegance personified.
Aptly named, as Tzu Ying means “talented”, her exceptionally fast movement was powerful, yet smooth and graceful. She combined that glorious movement with a more extensive array of technical skills than any women’s singles player before her. Those exquisite shots executed with apparent effortless ease, creating incredible deception. Time and again opponents were left completely stranded by the disguise and stinging attack, or when outmanoeuvred before Tai calmly caressed the shuttle into the open space.
Muhammad Ali may have coined the phrase “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” but how aptly it also sums up Tai’s elegant aggression.
Tai was simply an absolute joy to watch. She moved and leapt in the air with the beauty of a prima ballerina. Her shots and deception akin to the misdirection of a master magician. She controlled the rally like the conductor of an orchestra. All this while possessing the artistic flair and imagination of Picasso.
World championship and Olympic Gold may have eluded her, but in my humble opinion, Tai Tzu Ying is the “best” women’s singles player I’ve ever had the privilege to watch.
Dr Tai Tzu Ying, your artistry and exemplary sportsmanship are sorely missed.
有些運動員在競技場上，不僅擁有殺手般的競爭本能，同時又顯得如此優雅與從容，他們的風采超越了比賽本身，昇華為一種藝術之美。
網球選手羅傑·費德勒就是一個絕佳的例子。籃球界的麥可·喬丹、高爾夫球手老虎·伍茲以及拳擊手穆罕默德·阿里也是如此。他們都具備在極具侵略性或執行複雜技術動作時，仍能展現出不可思議的運動優雅。那是一種將困難化為輕而易舉的罕見能力。
這些傑出的運動員還有一個共通點：他們都被公認為各自運動領域中的「史上最佳」。然而有趣的是，他們中沒有一人是各自運動中擁有最多大滿貫、NBA總冠軍、大賽冠軍或世界冠軍頭銜衛冕次數的紀錄保持者。
因此，在評斷運動員的地位時，「最成功」與「最佳」之間是有所區別的。
如同這些偉大運動員，戴資穎的舉手投足就是運動優雅的化身。
她的名字「資穎」意為「才華洋溢」，恰如其分。她那無比迅捷的移動強勁有力，卻又流暢而優美。她將那美妙的步伐與比任何前輩女單選手都更為豐富的技術完美結合。那些精湛的擊球看似毫不費力，卻製造出令人難以置信的欺敵效果。對手一次又一次地被她隱藏的意圖和犀利的進攻完全困住，或是被她徹底調動後，看著小戴從容地將球輕輕推向空檔。
穆罕默德·阿里或許曾創造「輕如蝴蝶，刺如蜜蜂」這句名言，但它也同樣精準地概括了戴資穎優雅而具侵略性的球風。
觀賞小戴的比賽簡直是種純粹的享受。她在場上移動、騰空躍起時，有著首席芭蕾舞者般的美感。她的擊球與欺敵手法，就像魔術大師的障眼法。她掌控比賽節奏，宛如樂團指揮家。這一切，都伴隨著畢卡索般的藝術氣息與想像力。
儘管世界錦標賽和奧運金牌與她擦肩而過，但在我個人看來，戴資穎是我有幸觀賞過的「最棒」女單選手。
戴資穎博士，您的球技藝術和典範風範，著實令人懷念。