news

On August 20, the Paris Olympic Games Commendation Conference for the Chinese sports delegation was held in Beijing.

The picture comes from Zhang Zhizhen’s official social media account

Not long after the meeting ended, "sharp-eyed" netizens discovered on social media that Zheng Qinwen boarded a flight at two in the morning, and Zhang Zhizhen squeezed into the subway to the airport.

Netizen met Zhang Zhizhen on the subway who was catching a flight

Although they had different flights, their destinations were actually exactly the same - New York. They were traveling to participate in the 2024 US Open.

As the last stop of the annual tennis "Four Grand Slams", this year's US Open will start on August 26. A total of 11 players from mainland China will participate in the main draw of the US Open, tying the record for the number of mainland Chinese players participating in the Grand Slam main draw set in this year's Wimbledon.

On September 4, 2023, Zheng Qinwen advanced to the quarterfinals in the women's singles competition of the 2023 US Open. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Jie

Today is the first day of competition. Six Chinese players will appear. The schedule is as follows:

23:00

Zheng Qinwen vs Anisimova

Yuan Yue VS Andreeva

Wang Xiyu VS Pari

Wang Yafan VS Sakkari

Shang Juncheng VS Bublik

00:30

Buyunchoket vs Ruud

At the same time, Zheng Qinwen appeared on the official poster of the US Open.

Before the Paris Olympics, Zhang Zhizhen told reporters, "There are so many girls from our country coming to Paris, but I am the only boy. I don't know who to find for training. I hope more Chinese players can enter the competition."

This time, Zhang Zhizhen is not left alone. Shang Juncheng, who participated in the Grand Slam adult tournament for the first time in January last year, will start his second US Open main draw journey. Last year, he reached the third round of the US Open.

In 2021, Shang Juncheng won the runner-up in the US Open Junior Group at the same venue.

On July 1, Shang Juncheng played in the first round of the men's singles match at the 2024 Wimbledon Tennis Open. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Ying

Buyun Chaoket, who won three consecutive games in the qualifying round to break through, finally got his first Grand Slam main draw ticket in New York. In the last qualifying match, he defeated the Russian player Karatsev, who had reached the semi-finals of the Grand Slam men's singles competition and won the ATP Tour championship. His highest world ranking was in the top 20.

Buyun Chaoket plays in the first round of the men's singles qualifying match of the 2024 Australian Open on January 10. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Shen

On the women's side, a total of eight players competed, including Zheng Qinwen, Yuan Yue, Wang Xinyu, Wang Xiyu, Zhang Shuai and Zheng Saisai, who "copied and pasted" the Olympic lineup.

Faced with changes in venue types, tennis players usually face an "adaptation period". The interval between the Paris Olympic clay court events that just ended at the beginning of the month and the hard court events of the North American season is relatively short, which may become a challenge for the players participating in the Olympics.

I hope China’s “golden flowers” ​​can adjust their condition and adapt to the hard court season smoothly!

On August 7, Yuan Yue competed in the first round of the 2024 Toronto WTA1000 women's singles in Toronto. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Zou Zheng)

In addition, Wang Yafan and Wang Qiang also successfully qualified for the US Open based on their points. It is worth mentioning that this competition is Wang Qiang's second time on the US Open court after 2019, when she reached the quarterfinals.

Wang Qiang advances to the quarterfinals of the 2019 US Open. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Jie

The draw ceremony for the US Open was held on the 23rd. Judging from the results of the draw, the Chinese team's journey to the US Open may not be easy.

In the women's competition, Zheng Qinwen will face American player Anisimova in the first round. Although she is participating in the competition with a "wild card", Anisimova is very strong and was once ranked 21st in the world. In the recent WTA1000 competition in Toronto, she even defeated Sabalenka, the No. 2 seed of this US Open, and finally won the runner-up.

No. 2 seed Sabalenka and No. 3 seed Gauff may also meet Zheng Qinwen one after another. In addition, if the young players can successfully break through the first round, Zheng Qinwen and Yuan Yue, Wang Xiyu and Wang Yafan will stage a "Chinese derby" in the second round.

On the men's side, Buyunchoket, who is participating in a Grand Slam for the first time, will face Norwegian player Ruud, currently ranked eighth in the world, in the first round.

Zhang Zhizhen and Shang Juncheng will also face seeded players in the first round respectively.

Although Chinese tennis players have made breakthroughs in the Olympics, as a professional sport, it is normal for athletes to have ups and downs. We also ask the audience to cheer loudly and watch the game rationally!

Source: Chengshi Interactive Comprehensive Xinhua News Agency