zhang shuai wants to continue playing and does not want to be defined as a doubles player
2024-10-03
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zhang shuai will not say goodbye. photo by beijing news reporter wang fei
"don't retire now, you are still great." after the game, badosa said to zhang shuai in front of the net. in the women's singles top 8 of the china tennis open that ended on october 3, zhang shuai, who participated as a wild card, lost 0 to 2 to spanish player badosa and missed the top four. coming to beijing with a 24-game losing streak, no one thought that the 35-year-old zhang shuai could rebound from the bottom and win a wave of 4 consecutive victories. the world ranking also rose from 595 to 250.
when summarizing her trip to this china open, zhang shuai said that she is very satisfied with herself now. she will follow the advice of many coaches and players and will continue to play. next, zhang shuai hopes to return to the top 200 as soon as possible and catch up with the grand slam qualifying rounds. she does not want to be defined as a doubles player.
opponent asked her not to retire, osaka naomi said she is a pure person
after losing the first set 1-6, zhang shuai fought with no. 15 seed badosa in the second set until 7 points, and finally lost 4-7 and missed the top four, thus ending his trip to the china open.
"i don't want to lose just like this. it can't end like this. i won't give up until the last point." zhang shuai said that she has become accustomed to losing and is no longer afraid of failure. "it's not easy to win a game. everyone is so surprised, it feels like the whole world is congratulating me.”
before coming to beijing, zhang shuai suffered a 24-game losing streak in singles and was almost on the verge of retirement. she even asked the team if she wanted to continue. but many coaches and players on the tour are encouraging her in different ways, hoping that she will persevere. after today's game, badosa told zhang shuai in front of the net that she must not retire now, she is still great.
"i will listen to her. you must listen to experts in any field. they are experts in this circle." zhang shuai said that badosa is a good girl. although neither of them paid attention to the other before going on the field, they played at the last point. at the end, everyone will find a warm feeling.
during the tour, everyone knows that zhang shuai is very popular. she has good personal relationships with players such as naomi osaka, gauff, and mineon. they are rivals on the court and warm-hearted girls off the court. "we are very combative on the court, and we are all enthusiastic girls off the court." zhang shuai said that they are not always fighters, but they also need to encourage each other and comfort each other when they are injured or sick.
during the china open, naomi osaka said that since entering the tour circle, zhang shuai has been very good to her. talking about zhang shuai's previous 24-game losing streak, osaka naomi said that she could not empathize with him, because losing two games in a row was already like a nightmare. "i can't imagine the mental toughness required to lose 24 games in a row."
from naomi osaka's point of view, zhang shuai's past year or so has been like a test to test her love for tennis. i don't know how many struggles she has gone through in this process. every time she sees zhang shuai still training hard after losing, osaka can only sigh with emotion, "she is really a very pure person."
short-term goal is to be ranked in the top 200, and i don’t want to be defined as a doubles player
summarizing his career, zhang shuai said that he is at best a transitional figure. players of their generation are somewhat ashamed that they are not as outstanding as li na, and their results cannot be compared with those of little flowers like zheng qinwen. zhang shuai knows very well that winning a grand slam in singles is far away for her, so she wants to win a doubles or mixed doubles championship and realize her grand slam dream in another way. "people still have to have dreams. it is difficult to achieve. , just use another way to complete it, just like if i can’t do it alone, i will use doubles.”
after winning 4 games in a row at the china open, zhang shuai also had the opportunity to further communicate with reporters. at every post-game press conference, she would answer questions very seriously and share her life insights during this period. faced with the seemingly embarrassing 24-game losing streak, zhang shuai said that looking at it from another perspective, he has gained a lot. every loss is an opportunity to solve problems. if she solves one problem per game, she has solved 24 problems. if two problems are solved in each game, then 48 problems have been solved now. "after solving so many problems, of course i have upgraded and become stronger."
in her long career, zhang shuai has been surrounded by several generations of players, her opponents have changed, and her playing style has also changed, which requires her to keep pace with the times. change takes time, and many people retire after being unable to endure it. but zhang shuai found the best way to play in this process. as her career comes to an end, she is also trying to reconcile with herself. after participating in these 5 games in beijing, i can see that zhang shuai's thinking on the court is clearer and his style of play is more concise.
regarding the future, zhang shuai has a clear goal, hoping to win another grand slam doubles or mixed doubles championship. in addition, we strive to enter the top 200 in the world singles ranking as soon as possible to ensure that we can participate in the grand slam qualifying tournament. zhang shuai hopes to participate in singles competitions next season when she participates in doubles competitions. she does not want to be defined as a doubles player.
next, zhang shuai will participate in the wta wuhan open, which is the last event she can participate in by virtue of protecting her ranking. after that, she had to start from a lower level, and her points and rankings would not improve as quickly as she did at the china open. but no matter where the competition is, no matter the level, zhang shuai said that she will try her best.
beijing news chief reporter sun haiguang
editor bao hongguang
