Olympic champion Zheng leads successful 2024 while China’s men move up rankings
Underlined by historic individual performances and surging public interest in the sport, Chinese tennis has celebrated a remarkable year in 2024 with unprecedented success, on and off the court.
Leading the highlights, and arguably all other sporting feats in 2024, was Zheng Qinwen’s history-making Paris 2024 campaign, as she defied long odds to deliver Asia’s first tennis singles Olympic gold medal, and the second overall, to inspire a nationwide craze for a racket sport that has long been overshadowed by table tennis and badminton in China.
Zheng’s Paris heroics, played out on the red clay of Roland Garros in August, built on tennis legend Li Na’s trailblazing first major win in 2011 — also celebrated at the iconic French Open venue — convincing fans, retired players and pundits alike that the sport’s future is thriving and in good hands 10 years after Li’s retirement.
It also marked a full-circle milestone for tennis promotion in a country where Olympic success traditionally outranks achievements at all other events, which began with now retired pair, Li Ting and Sun Tiantian, winning the women’s doubles final at the Athens Games in 2004.
Zheng’s compatriots Zhang Zhizhen and Wang Xinyu put the icing on the cake by winning a silver medal in mixed doubles, helping the tennis squad stand out among all of China’s medal-laden programs at the Paris Games.
Zheng got her breakout year off to a flying start Down Under, with her first major final appearance at the Australian Open, followed by a strong second half that saw her claim two titles at the WTA250 event in Palermo, Italy, and in the WTA500 in Tokyo.
She carried her Olympic momentum deep into the season, as she reached her first WTA1000 final at home in Wuhan, before fighting her way to the championship match in Riyadh on her WTA Finals debut, finishing the year at a career-high world No 5.
The 22-year-old also led all women on the Tour in total aces served (445) and most three-set wins (21). Zheng was announced on Dec 19 as the WTA Fan Awards’ favorite singles player of the year, highlighting her growing popularity worldwide.
Given that it was just her third full season competing on the pro circuit, Zheng left fans assured that her fruitful 2024 is just the beginning of something greater.
Other female players who had a year to remember include China’s second-highest ranked woman Wang, at No 37, who reached two semifinals on the tour to go with her Olympic mixed doubles silver, and resilient veteran Zhang Shuai, who snapped a disheartening 24-match losing streak to revive her storied career.
Zhang clinched her first singles win in 603 days, following a Tour record 24-match victory drought, with a straight-sets win over McCartney Kessler of the United States in her opening-round match at the China Open in Beijing, before fighting all the way to the quarterfinals of the WTA1000 event.
“Chinese tennis has achieved huge breakthroughs this year,” Zhang, a 35-year-old two-time major doubles winner, said on Dec 26 in Perth, Australia, while representing China at the United Cup, an 18-country mixed-team tournament.
“A lot of kids have grown interested in tennis and started to practice the sport. Whereas in the past, they probably would choose table tennis or badminton, now they are picking up tennis rackets. So, I think we all did a good job.”
For the first time, the 2024 tennis season also saw China’s men contribute just as much to the nation’s world-class status as their female compatriots.
Led by world No 45 Zhang Zhizhen, three Chinese men, including world No 50 Shang Juncheng and No 65 Buyunchaokete, ended the 2024 season ranked within the top 100, realizing Chinese fans’ long-cherished dream of cheering for their own at the top of the men’s game, as they have for their women’s stars for decades.
In a series of “firsts” for Chinese men’s tennis, the trio reached five semifinals and two finals between them on the highly competitive ATP Tour. Shang, a 19-year-old sensation, won his first and Chinese men’s second tour-level singles title at the ATP250 event in Chengdu in September.
As the first Chinese to lift an ATP singles title in Dallas, Texas, in February 2023, injury-plagued talent Wu Yibing, a former world No 54 and 2017 US Open boys’ champion, also capped off the 2024 season on a positive note after fighting into the third round at the ATP1000 Masters in Shanghai in October, showing some promise for a healthy return.
With three direct entries via rankings, and two wildcards, five Chinese mainland players entered the singles main draw at this year’s Shanghai Masters, making it the biggest-ever Chinese representation at any professional tournament on the ATP Tour.
Zhang Zhizhen said he hopes this strength in numbers will only continue to grow, given the sport’s surging popularity in the country, driven by a hugely successful year.
“If people are watching us do something and then trying to follow us, that’s great news for us,” he told atp.com on the eve of Team China’s United Cup opener against Team Brazil in Perth, Australia, in late December.
“Most Chinese people are watching table tennis or badminton at the Olympics, not tennis, but suddenly they’re watching (our) final live on TV,” said Zhang Zhizhen, who won a mixed doubles silver medal at Paris 2024 with partner Wang Xinyu in August.
“Right away, more people know who we are, and more people are trying to play, trying to learn. That’s really good.”
Despite a month-long season break, Zhang’s momentum showed no sign of slowing down, as he breezed past Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro 6-3, 6-0 in just 54 minutes in a men’s singles match on Dec 27 to help China beat Brazil in a group tie at the United Cup, an 18-country mixed-team tournament.
The 28-year-old Shanghai native, the oldest among China’s top three, hailed the healthy competition with his younger compatriots as a strong motivation.
“I always see this pressure in a good way; they’re pushing me,” said Zhang Zhizhen, who started the 2024 season as China’s only top-100 man.
“For sure, they are going to overtake me one day, but they’re also pushing me forward. They give me a more positive way to look at these things.
“More energy is coming through. As an athlete, you want to keep the highest status for as long as you can, (whether it) be Chinese No 1, or even world No 1.
“This year, 2024, has been really good, really successful. I’m quite happy with what I’m doing, and also with my team.”
