Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open.
The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula.
Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which began in 1968.
Photo: AFP
In a dramatic change of fortune, the former top-25 player who has been plagued by injury, has now won four matches in seven days without dropping a set.
Speaking after a dominant 6-4, 6-2 victory over Magdalena Frech in the round-of-16, Zhang laid bare the pain she endured as she suffered loss after loss.
“Coming to Beijing I had a lot of pressure and was nervous because I had lost 24 matches,” said Zhang, who has reached two Grand Slam singles quarter-finals, in 2016 at Australia and Wimbledon in 2019.
“I had no idea how to win and I didn’t want to lose another, especially with all the Chinese fans,” she said. “When I think about this, I’m really sad. Walking back to the locker room, I didn’t know if I should continue or not before this tournament.”
Zhang was encouraged to carry on playing singles because she was still winning matches in doubles, in which she is a two-time major champion.
She reached the women’s doubles final at the US Open last month with France’s Kristina Mladenovic.
Zhang felt she had a chance to snap her losing streak in Beijing because she feels completely at home on the hard courts, where she has played many times down the years.
Zhang is popular among other players in the locker room and said that their support, along with that of her coaching team, pulled her back from the brink of quitting.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka this week said that it was emotional to see Zhang win again.
“Sometimes I lost the faith because the good result never came, but my coach said he trusted me. He said: ‘For sure one day, if you win one, you can continue to win a lot of matches,’” Zhang said. “It helped me a lot, a lot. If someone had told me to retire, maybe I’m done.”
In the women’s doubles, seventh seeds Chan Hao-ching of Taiwan and Veronika Kudermetova of Russia advanced to the quarter-finals when their opponents Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic and Badosa pulled out.
Additional reporting by staff writer
The next generation of running talent takes center stage at today’s Berlin Marathon, in the absence of stars including Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and Ethiopian world record holder Tigist Assefa. With most of the major marathon stars skipping the event in the wake of the Paris Olympics just more than a month ago, the field is wide open in the men’s and women’s races. Since 2015, Kipchoge has won five times in Berlin, Kenenisa Bekele has won twice and Guye Adola once — with all three missing today. Kenyan Kibiwott Kandie and Ethiopian Tadese Takele are among the favourites for the men, while
Taiwan’s Tony Wu yesterday beat Mackenzie McDonald of the US to win the Nonthaburi Challenger IV in Thailand, his first challenger victory since 2022. The 26-year-old world No. 315, who won both his qualifiers to advance to the main draw, has been on a hot streak this month, winning his past nine matches, including two that ensured Taiwan’s victory in their Davis Cup World Group I tie. Wu took just more than two hours to top world No. 172 McDonald 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to win his second challenger tournament since the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger in 2022. Wu’s Tallahassee win followed two years of
Nick Castellanos, Trea Turner and Kody Clemens homered on Wednesday as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs 9-6 and clinched a first-round bye in the playoffs. Castellanos had three hits and scored three times. Bryson Stott also had three hits and Brandon Marsh drove in three runs for the Phillies, who on Monday claimed their first National League East title in 13 years. Coupled with the Milwaukee Brewers’ 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia secured the bye and home-field advantage in the NL Division Series. The Phillies owned the tiebreaker with the Brewers after winning the season series against the
UP IN SMOKE: More than half a dozen riders crashed out of the race, with Marquez’s title chances in doubt after driving off the track with flames flickering from his bike Jorge Martin yesterday won a crash-filled Indonesia MotoGP to extend his championship lead, while closest rival Francesco Bagnaia limited the damage by claiming the final podium place. The win leaves the Pramac Racing rider 21 points ahead of his Italian Ducati rival, who finished third behind Spaniard Pedro Acosta in sweltering conditions at the Mandalika International Street Circuit on Lombok island. In front of a crowd of 60,000 in motorbike-mad Indonesia, the 26-year-old put his tumble in Saturday’s sprint behind him, canceling out the gains his title rival Bagnaia made after securing victory in that race. “Thank you Indonesia. I am very happy.