In this episode of Future of the Business World, Yijia Chen, co-grand prize winner of the Summer 2025 Comment & Win Competition, shares how her journey as a provincial-level tennis player has shaped her entrepreneurial mindset, intellectual curiosity, and approach to personal branding. Trained at the Rafa Nadal Academy, Yijia reflects on how competitive sport taught her focus, resilience, and attention to detail — skills that now inform her work as a sports content creator and emerging researcher in the business of athletics.

Wharton Global Youth Program: Hello and welcome to Future of the Business World, the podcast featuring high school entrepreneurs across the globe. I’m Diana Drake, managing editor of the Wharton Global Youth Program at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

As we wrap up our fifth season of the Future of the Business World podcast, I can’t help but look back at the innovative spirit captured in the past 62 episodes. We launched the show in September 2020 with guest Rucha Mehendale, then a California high school student, developing an app to keep teens motivated and on schedule. Today, Rucha is working as a global marketing specialist at Nvidia, a great example of the Future of the Business World in action.

Today’s guest emerged from the pages of our summer 2025 Comment and Win Competition, ultimately claiming the title as co-grand prize winner. The innovative thread woven through those comments inspired me to reach out to her.

Let’s get started.

Yijia [Annie] Chen, welcome to Future of the Business World.

Annie Chen: I’m really honored to be here.

Wharton Global Youth: Tell us about yourself. Where do you live and go to school and what are your passions?

Annie: I’m from Nanjing, a city very close to Shanghai, with a long history and rich cultural roots. I go to school there, and outside of academics, tennis has been a huge part of my life. Beyond tennis, I’m really passionate about sports analytics. Music. I enjoy music from Lana Del Rey, and I also play the Guqin, which is a traditional Chinese seven-string instruments. It’s very calming for me and helps me slow down in a fast-paced world.

Wharton Global Youth: You’re a provincial level tennis player who has trained at the Rafa Nadal Academy [in Spain]. Tell us more about your tennis career and training. What does that look like so far?

Annie: I’ve been playing tennis since I was five and for almost 12 years, and one of the most enjoyable experiences for me was training at the Rafa Nadal Academy. Through conversations with fellow athletes, coaches and even Rafa Nadal’s nutritionist, I noticed how often they reflect on the mental struggles that come with daily training and constant competition, things like pressure buildup, emotional fatigue and confidence swings after matches. Many players don’t struggle because of a lack of skill, but because intense expectations arrive too quickly, like you often need to face immense pressure from the press conference and also the press coverage, so you are simply too young to handle all the stress.

These experiences made me reflect on how lower ranked or developing players often don’t receive enough mental or structural support, even though they may have huge potential. As I trained at Rafa Nadal Academy, I just did some comparison with the training in my Chinese tennis academies. I feel that Rafa Nadal Academy, like the system, is more integrated. Training isn’t just about hitting balls. Everything is connected. They use advanced facilities like motion tracking systems and even small efficiency details that are hard to notice with the naked eye. So, coaching is also more Western style, like instead of only giving direct structures, coaches often ask you questions like why you chose a certain shot, and what do you notice during a rally? So, that encourages me to think independently and take ownership of their decisions. So, experiencing both systems helped me understand how structure, technology and coaching philosophy together could shape long-term athlete development, and it could help me grow as a well-rounded athlete.

Wharton Global Youth: Wow, so you’re not just doing your thing on the court, you’re really digging deeply into the motivations and the psychology behind your sport. That sounds fascinating, and we are going to talk about tennis today, because I feel like your personal sports experience has fueled your entrepreneurial mindset in many ways. Would you agree with that?

Annie: Definitely, tennis constantly puts me in situations where there’s noone to rely on but myself. I need to stand alone on the court, competing and combining with my opponents, and there was no coach to step in. I had to figure out much whether to slow the pace or change my serve placement. So, actually I could. I developed a habit of diagnosing a problem quickly, adjusting technology, adjusting strategy with limited information, and also staying calm under immense pressure. I will test an idea and see when or how it fails, and I will adapt, and then I will keep moving forward, just like on a court.

Wharton Global Youth: In the past, you have been an influencer on Red Note, which is a popular Chinese social media and e-commerce app. Help us understand really what it means to be a sports creator on Red Note, and how you use your content to support and motivate other young athletes.

On Red Note, my content usually focuses much more on supporting athletes mental well being and also decision making. First, I share my content of how to help young athletes recognize common stressors in training and competition and understanding when it’s important to pause and seek help. And also, I talk openly about how to process losses, setbacks and emotional ups and downs to come with competing and being evaluated publicly. And moreover, I teach them breathing techniques and short meditation routines, and also kind of instruct them with some positive visualizations, so we could help athletes stay grounded under pressure. And also, I share about sports analytics-based content, including, like simple match breakdowns and some data-informed predictions. The goal is to teach young athletes how to think, how to read patterns, evaluate matchups and understand why some tech strategies will work in specific situations.

And also, I often highlight athletes like Naomi Osaka, their mental stress and how they overcome their mental illness, because she has stepped away to protect her mental health, become a mother and return on her own terms, also like Amanda [Animisimova], whose journey shows how resilience and patience can lead to renewed success. So, I wanted young players to follow role models who value balance, resilience and long-term growth, not just constant winning like only the points and match results.

Wharton Global Youth: I want to stay with Naomi Osaka for a minute. Your experience as a content creator actually prompted you to research women’s tennis sponsorships, where you compared athletes such as Naomi and Coco Gauff and explored how branding decisions shape opportunities in the industry. It really sounds like fascinating work. Annie, what have you learned about branding and sponsorships, which is a big social media and business, right?

Annie: Yes, so like, through Red Note, I noticed that brands weren’t just looking for performance. They care about storytelling and values. For example, sports headphone brands approached me and connected with my contents, message and audience trust. So, I wanted to delve deeper, and I compared Naomi Osaka and Coco by looking at how their brand identities led to very different sponsorship pathways. Naomi partnerships are closely tied to her global influence, mental health advocacy and social impact, which attract brands and technology, health care and wellness, and also her status as a coming mother to the court.

Coco Gauff, on the other hand, has a more diverse and Gen Z-oriented sponsorship portfolio, like she’s one of the most successful tennis athletes on Tiktok and on Instagram, those social media, so she could have a strong appeal to apparel lifestyle and digital-first brands, and she could attract the Gen Z athletes, the Gen Z teenagers. What stood out to me is that sponsorship success isn’t just about performance. It’s about alignment between an athlete’s values, audience and the type of assets brands want to activate. That difference has important implications for how the industry evaluates female athletes and long-term brand strategy.

Wharton Global Youth: Can you talk more about some of the opportunities that your Red Note engagement inspired for you. For example, when you and I were talking back and forth before this interview, you mentioned that you spoke recently at Wimbledon about reimagining tennis media. Tell us more about that.

Annie: At Wimbledon, my talk focused on how tennis media can better support young athletes and engage Gen Z audiences. And I proposed two main ideas. First, I suggested creating media opportunities led by high school students or youth clubs. These students could act as interviewers, content creators or storytellers, giving junior players a platform to speak on their own terms. From my own experience, training and competing with junior athletes, traditional press conferences can be overwhelming, so when we let young people lead the conversation, we could shift the dynamic from interrogation to dialog. This approach is clearly a win-win, because young athletes feel more in control and less pressured. Student journalists gain real-world experience in media production and tennis organizations could receive content that feels genuine and resonates with younger audiences.

The second proposal is more focusing on showcasing vulnerability and growth, not just victories, because media can feature speeches and interviews where players discuss challenges, near misses or emotional struggles after tough matches, moments like Amanda’s runner-up speech at Wimbledon, or Coco Gauff talking openly about pressure, demonstrate that losing, as in failure, is part of growth. So, when we highlight those authentic stories, we could help young athletes understand that success isn’t only measured by trophies. We’re also providing relatable role models for the fans. So I wanted to [emphasize] those [types of] content and spread it through social media [with the] hashtag #GrandSlamFinals. So, when it is combined with the youth-led media, this approach could reinforce mental health, build empathy and create content that Gen Z audiences will genuinely connect with themselves.

Wharton Global Youth: I’m amazed by how much you’re a voice of youth in the game of tennis. It sounds like you are really championing so much more than winning that next match. I’m remembering a moment from last summer’s Comment & Win Competition when you were reflecting on one of our podcast episodes featuring students who are doing great work around recycling used tennis balls — again, another innovative aspect of your sport. You talked about the gap in sustainability awareness within tennis academies in China. What does that gap look like, and have you worked to address it?

Annie: So, many tennis academies in China just don’t have clear systems for handling used tennis balls. Most are simply thrown away without a second thought. To address this on a small but practical level, I founded my school’s first tennis club and turned this issue into something students could engage with directly. We collected discarded tennis balls in our community and organized hands-on workshops where students could transform them into creative art pieces and functional decorations. The goal wasn’t just recycling; it was helping people see waste differently and start conversations about sustainability within a sports setting. Through this, more students and even coaches began to think about how tennis programs could manage equipment more responsibly.

Wharton Global Youth: Also, again from the Comment & Win (this is probably one of the things that led to your co-grand prize, by the way), you wrote about reaching out to the woman who led sustainability efforts at Wimbledon. What did you learn about Wimbledon’s approach to using old tennis balls?

Annie: Wimbledon’s used tennis balls are repurposed in a variety of creative ways, like they are transformed into acoustic panels to improve sound quality, made into shelters that provide safe habitats for wildlife, especially birds, and even crafted into functional furniture like benches and seating. So, seeing this firsthand showed me how small and thoughtful innovations can turn what would normally be waste into something really useful and really meaningful, beautiful and even environmentally friendly.

“Many of us, especially teenagers, are afraid of cold emailing to professionals. The hardest part of reaching out to professionals is often taking the first step. It could feel intimidating to send that initial email or make that first connection, especially when you’re young and inexperienced, but in my experience, many professionals genuinely value youth perspectives. They’re often impressed by their initiative, their young voice, their curiosity and their fresh ideas.” – Yijia “Annie” Chen

Wharton Global Youth: This is a great example, because time and again, I was surprised by your ability to take the initiative and risks to discover new knowledge and to fuel your curiosity. Where does that drive come from in you, do you think? What have you learned about cold calling and reaching out to people randomly for insight?

Annie: I think a lot of my drive comes from a mix of curiosity and love of challenges. From a young age, I realized that trying new things, even if I might fail, was the only way to really learn and grow. For example, in tennis losing my first big match at seven and crying for like four or five hours taught me that setbacks in the end are a signal to explore, improve and push myself further.

And also, speaking of cold emailing, I think it’s a thing that is worth talking about, because many of us, especially teenagers, are afraid of cold emailing to professionals. The hardest part of reaching out to professionals is often taking the first step. It could feel intimidating to send that initial email or make that first connection, especially when you’re young and inexperienced, but in my experience, many professionals genuinely value youth perspectives. They’re often impressed by their initiative, their young voice, their curiosity and their fresh ideas. So, if one email doesn’t get a response, that’s okay. You could try a different approach, follow up politely, or reach out through another channel, another approach. Each attempt is also a chance to practice research, your communication skills, and also problem-solving skills. So, it’s beneficial for our growth.

Wharton Global Youth: You touched on sports analytics a few minutes ago. I want to go a little deeper, because I know that’s one of your passions. You actually spent a few weeks on the Wharton School campus in summer 2025 studying sports analytics in Wharton’s Moneyball Academy. Tell us more about your passion for sports data as well as your time in the academy. What were your greatest takeaways from this?

Annie: Being immersed in sports analytics at Wharton was an eye-opening experience, because back at my hometown, I don’t have that much opportunity to engage with those like-minded peers and also TAs and professors to delve deeper into our projects.

One of the projects I worked on is to focus on what really makes a tennis serve effective, looking at factors like speed, accuracy, and how unpredictable the serve placement is. So, I analyzed point by point data from the US Open over several years and our team run regressions, and found that serve speed had the biggest impact, though accuracy and variation also played important roles.

What made the experience truly memorable wasn’t just about the data or the analysis. It was working with a team of passionate peers and getting support from the course TAs. They were incredibly helpful. The TAs did guide us to finalize our methods, question our assumptions, and refine our approaches when we hit some roadblocks. And sometimes it was stressful trying to get everything right, but that pressure pushed us to think critically and creatively. Collaborating so closely with teammates and receiving mentorship from TAs taught me how to communicate ideas, clearly, handle feedback, and also persevere under pressure. And by the end, I kind of feel like I was part of a real sports analytics community.

Wharton Global Youth: I’m going to actually throw one of your quotes back at you from the Comment and Win, because I think it really just synthesized your thoughts around this. You said, “Tennis has taught me how to focus, how to push through, and how to pay attention to details. Data has taught me to question what I see, to look deeper and to keep testing ideas.” I really thought that was sweet.

You’re currently designing an app. The prototype is complete and includes interactive challenges that help young tennis athletes recover from injuries more effectively. Tell me how all of this incorporates AI and data driven insights and just provide a few details of your project.

Annie: The app uses a gamified Island map to make recovery engaging and interactive each week. Athletes complete recovery challenges that feel like unlocking new areas of the island, turning rehabilitation into a fun and game-like experience. Users can select specific pain areas or focus points, like your shoulder, maybe your leg, your ankle or your knee. And the app generates AI-personalized rehab and conditioning plans tailored to their needs. So, throughout the process, your AI personalized rehab and assistant will provide encouragement, track progress, and offer tips to keep athletes motivated and also consistent. At the end of each week, the app will also produce a comprehensive coach report summarizing the athlete’s progress, highlighting their improvements and recommending adjustment for next week. So, looking ahead, I hope to build on this experience during college, because when I learn more about AI data analysis and also user standard design, I could further develop this app. I could lengthen like the weeks that the athletes could rehabilitate. My goal is to expand the features to make it usable over long recovery periods, and ultimately, I hope I could help more athletes reach their full potential safely and effectively.

Wharton Global Youth: All right, let’s end with our lightning round answer these questions as quickly as you can. What is about you that would surprise us.

Annie: I think I really love teddy bears. Like I sleep with eight to nine teddy bears. They’re eight to nine teddy bears on my bed. And I love Paddington Bear.

Wharton Global Youth: What is your best shot on the court?

Annie: I think volleys.

Wharton Global Youth: Where do you hope to be in five years?

Annie: Maybe in a sports consulting or sports analytics firm, and possibly I will attend graduate school.

Wharton Global Youth: How do you define success in a few words?

Annie: Making impact without losing yourself.

Wharton Global Youth: What advice do you have about handling pressure?

Annie: When I’m on the court, I will use some breathing techniques like, 4331, I think, inhale, hold exhale and grunt.

Wharton Global Youth: What would you be caught binge watching at midnight,

Annie: Mysteries, especially Wednesday, and also maybe some Disney episodes

Wharton Global Youth: Your favorite influencer on social media?

Annie: Kendall Jenner.

Wharton Global Youth: You are starting a business-themed talk show. Who is your first guest and what is your first question?

Annie: If I am lucky enough, I hope to invite Serena Williams, and my first question will be, how do you redefine success beyond the court?

Wharton Global Youth: Annie Chen, thank you for joining us on Future of the Business World.

Annie: Thank you.

Cover Image Shot By: Darko Nesic, Unsplash