zhang shuai: dreams have nothing to do with age. it’s good to still be fighting after 15 years.
2024-09-28
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china news service, beijing, september 27 (reporter guo xuan) "i don't know how many more opportunities i will have to stand on the china open court, and i don't know how long i can play. but i can still stand on the court 15 years later. it’s already very good.” 35-year-old veteran zhang shuai said at the beijing national tennis center on the 27th.
on the same day, the 2024 china tennis open (referred to as "china open") entered the second round of the women's singles main draw. zhang shuai, who played as a wild card, unexpectedly defeated no. 6 seed navarro and advanced to the top 32 of the women's singles. she said after the game that dreams have nothing to do with age and encouraged fans to pursue their dreams bravely.
on september 27, the second round of the women's singles main draw of the 2024 china tennis open (referred to as "china open") began. 35-year-old veteran zhang shuai easily defeated the no. 6 seed in the tournament and the us open semi-finalist navarro in two sets, and advanced to the women's singles. single top 32. the picture shows zhang shuai during the game. (photo provided by china open organizing committee)
before the china open, zhang shuai fell into a long trough. last year at the australian open, zhang shuai reached the top 16 of the women's singles. since then, his condition has plummeted due to injuries. starting from the women's tennis association (wta) 250 lyon open last february, she suffered 24 defeats in singles on the tour. after being eliminated in the first round of the us open women's singles this year, she once said that she was not sure whether this would be her last grand slam singles match.
two days ago, in the first round of the china open women's singles, zhang shuai eliminated american player kessler and finally won the singles after 20 months. after the game, she posted on social media a photo of herself defeating the then world no. 1 safina 15 years ago at the china open. this was also her first victory over a top ten player in the world.
zhang shuai said that when she participated in a tournament in seoul last week, many korean players who had known her as teenagers and had retired long ago said they were proud of her: "they said they couldn't believe i could still play ball now."
zhang shuai has many good memories in beijing, including his first win on the wta tour and his first victory over the world number one. among the 9 experiences of defeating the top ten in the world, 4 of them occurred at the china open. now that he has won a long-lost victory at the china open, zhang shuai said with a smile: "the important reason why i haven't won is that i have to wait until i win in this tournament and on this court."
from a "little flower" to a veteran, zhang shuai has experienced 14 consecutive grand slam first-round trips and also suffered a 24-game losing streak in singles. she joked at the press conference: "these 15 years of my life are not something that a normal person can endure."
when asked about the secret to his comeback after repeated slumps, zhang shuai said that injuries and age are things he cannot control. “training hard and playing hard day in and day out is the key to winning.”
at the china open in 2009, zhang shuai, who was ranked 226th at the time, set a record for the lowest ranking by defeating the then "queen of the balls". fifteen years later, zhang shuai, who is currently ranked 595th and ranked eighth in the world, said firmly: "today i am no longer the person i was when i was young, but i will still try my best. i will get my ranking back bit by bit." (over)
(source: china news network)
