Thuy Dung competes in the 2009 national tennis championship finals in Hanoi

Nguyen Thuy Dung is keen on notching up more successes, on and off the tennis court.

A project that will cost an estimated US$4 million will take some time, but Dung says she is now practicing at tennis academies in the US and Thailand and she is studying how they manage deals - from selecting trainees, to finance and marketing management.

The 23-year-old star also reads books about tennis and project management and wants to learn economics to prepare for the future.

Clearly, the tennis academy is more than just a dream.

Dung has its dimensions mapped out, at least in her mind. She says it will be a complex in an area of more than three hectares with a court of international standards, a training ground, a swimming-pool and a restaurant; and the nearer it is to Hanoi downtown, the better.

“I hope to nurture tennis talents who will be able to bring pride to the country in the international arena.”

Dung says she has an advantage in pursuing this dream because her parents are businesspeople and they strongly support her idea of setting an academy in the capital.

Tough year

Asked how she felt when she defended the title successfully at this year’s national contest, Dung says she feels more relaxed and confident now; but she still thinks defending a title is harder than winning it.

“Everyone wants to beat you in every set at every tournament. If you win, people think it is not unusual; but if you lose, they will talk a lot about it. It’s a great deal of pressure.”

It has been a tough year for Dung. She had to nurse an injury, take a fall in the world’s rankings by almost 200 places, and break up with her boyfriend, all at the same time.

“I have always wanted to be among the world’s top 500 players. I climbed to 612th early this year but then I suffered an injury and began to drop. Now, I am out of the world’s top 800.

“I’m going to the US soon to practice and play. I hope I will achieve my goal of being among the world’s top 500.

“The saddest time in the past few years was the moment I had to say goodbye to my boyfriend in June.”

Dung hopes to meet someone who understands her and sympathizes with her. She says a good personality is excellent but a good appearance is not necessary. She says she expects to meet neither a very ugly man nor a handsome one because she says a very good-looking man would typically be somebody else’s husband.

Her hope is to find a husband who is interested in doing business because he would be able to help her manage the academy of her dreams.

Dung says she now regrets not getting a BA degree. “Most of my friends have got a university degree,” Dung said. “If I could turn back time, I would go to university and play tennis professionally at the same time.”

It is not too late, of course.

Dung says she will go to university after she retires from her international career because it will help her better manage her tennis academy.

Reported by Kap Thanh Long