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september 19,

the third day of the 2024 hangzhou open,

hangzhou local star wu yibing appeared in little lotus,

facing his old rival huang zelin across the net,

lost to huang zelin 3-6 in the first set.

he then chose to withdraw due to injury.

the last time the two met was at the "little lotus" -- at the hangzhou asian games last year, huang zelin defeated wu yibing in the third round. after that, wu yibing was sidelined for a year due to injury. although he returned to the game, he soon fell silent again.

in august this year, wu yibing returned from injury and won the jinan challenge, but the shadow of injury still lingered, and wu yibing withdrew from the shanghai challenge again due to injury.

coming to the hangzhou open, competing in his hometown, wu yibing was very popular and many fans came to the scene to cheer for him.

but not long after the game started, wu yibing called a medical timeout due to back discomfort. after treatment, he chose to play with the injury, but his condition was obviously declining. during the game, wu yibing burst into tears and finally had to choose to withdraw.

at the post-match press conference, wu yibing looked heavy-faced and his steps were a little unsteady. he needed help from staff to stand up from his chair and go down the stairs.

"in the third point of the match, during my own serve, huang zelin hit a forehand cross-court shot and i strained my back muscles when i tried to save the ball," wu said. "i feel sorry that i can't present better tennis to everyone in my hometown. i'm sorry, but i'm more sorry for myself. i don't know why things turned out like this. i hope it will be better next time."

when the two sides exchanged courts, wu yibing and huang zelin had a brief exchange. after the game, wu yibing revealed: "i asked huang zelin if he could play the first set with me. because we are all athletes, and (i) am playing at home, i believe he can understand my feelings, and i am very happy that he fulfilled my wish. but i still want to say sorry that i can't show my best condition in my hometown court to my hometown fans."

after the press conference, wu yibing will continue to receive treatment. we look forward to wu yibing's early recovery and bringing us surprises in the next game.

source: chao news