Perhaps, being at home was enough to reverse the trend. In the first round of the WTA 1000 in Beijing, China’s Zhang Shuai managed to end a streak of 24 consecutive defeats. The 35-year-old defeated Ireland’s McCartney Kessler in two sets (7-6, 7-6) and won her first match since January 2023. At the time, she was ranked 23rd in the world. Having suffered a shoulder injury for several months, she then experienced a period of general exhaustion.
By losing in Cincinnati against Diana Shnaider (6-1, 6-4) in August, Zhang Shuai established a new record for the number of defeats by beating that of the American Vince Spadea, who had suffered 21 defeats between October 1999 and June 2000.
She will face Emma Navarro, eighth in the WTA rankings, in the second round on the night of Thursday to Friday at 2 a.m.
During the Tennis tournaments of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, China was in the spotlight thanks to the gold medal won by its 21-year-old player Qinwen Zheng, victorious against Croatian Donna Vekic in the final (6-2, 6-3). In mixed doubles, Wang Xinyu and Zhang Zhizhen had to settle for the silver medal against the Czech duo Siniaková-Machác.
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