Six Chinese players are at Wimbledon hoping to cause a surprise, like the legendary Li Na did at the Grand Slam.
Rising star Zheng Qinwen is the only Chinese player seeded at Wimbledon this year, at No. 24 in the women's singles. She will be joined by compatriots Zhang Shuai, Zhu Lin, Wang Xinyu and Wang Xiyu.
In men's singles, Zhang Zhizhen and Wu Yibing made their first appearance in the main draw of the grass court Grand Slam.
Wu Yibing (Ngo Dich Binh) is 23 years old, 1m83 tall, weighs 80kg. He is the Chinese tennis player who has played the most ATP Tour matches since the beginning of this year. Photo: ATP
Wu made history earlier this year when he became the first Chinese player to win an ATP Tour title. He defeated John Isner in the Dallas Open final on February 12, and also became the first Chinese man to beat a top-10 ATP player, defeating Taylor Fritz in the semifinals.
Wu lost to Ly Hoang Nam after two sets at the 2015 Malaysia Open junior tournament. After that, the Chinese prodigy improved significantly year by year, becoming the world's number one junior tennis player in 2017.
Wu made his Grand Slam debut at the US Open last year, defeating 31st seed Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round and Nuno Borges in the second round, before losing to Daniil Medvedev in the third round. Wu was also the first Chinese player to win a Grand Slam main draw in the Open Era.
Wu, who lost to Andrey Rublev in three sets at the Halle Open, came into Wimbledon with a record of 11 wins and 10 losses this season, and a ranking of No. 59. Wu had been No. 58, the highest ranking a Chinese man had ever reached on the ATP rankings, until compatriot Zhang Zhizhen dropped to No. 54 on June 26.
Zhang reached the third round of Roland Garros earlier this month, losing in four sets to Casper Ruud. The 6ft 3in player was the first Chinese player to reach the main draw of Wimbledon in 2021. He completed his Wimbledon preparations this season by reaching the quarterfinals of the Eastbourne International this week.
Zhang is the only Chinese man to have reached the quarterfinals of the ATP Tour on three surfaces. He is also the only Chinese male tennis player currently residing in Europe. Zhang joined former player Ivan Ljubicic's academy in Croatia in 2021, and has since made new breakthroughs in his career.
Zhang Zhizhen became the first Chinese player to reach the quarterfinals of the ATP Masters 1000, at the Madrid Masters last month. Photo: ATP
"Zhizhen is the most experienced of the Chinese players," Ljubicic said of his junior. "Being in Europe full-time allows him to interact, train and compete with the best. In this profession, you need to feel comfortable traveling all over the world. This is the most difficult thing for any player."
Zhang believes he and his fellow countrymen need to improve their fitness and gain more experience. "The tournaments are continuous, from one surface to another. It's tough for us," said the 26-year-old. "Focus and determination are a must."
Li Na remains the only Chinese player to have won a Grand Slam. She won the 2011 Roland Garros and the 2014 Australian Open, as well as reaching three Wimbledon quarterfinals and one US Open semi-final. Li has been in the tennis hall of fame since 2019.
Vy Anh
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