Zhang Shuai withdraws injured from the US Open, with Chinese tennis star set to drop out of top 100 in latest setback
- Flushing Meadows absence comes amid 16-match losing streak with the 34-year-old appearing to suffer an on-court panic attack last month
- Zhang, who also broke down in tears after her French Open exit, is reportedly ‘mentally exhausted’ and has not been home to China in three years
Zhang Shuai is set to drop out of the top 100 of the Women’s Tennis Association singles rankings after withdrawing injured from the US Open.
It is the latest setback for the Chinese 34-year-old, who is on a 16-match losing streak in singles competition, and appeared to suffer an on-court panic attack last month.
She had also broken down and sobbed at her post-match press conference after a quick first-round exit at the French Open in May.
“Shine in happy days and be strong in difficult days,” read a message posted on the French Open’s official account on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like social media platform “Wishing Zhang Shuai a speedy recovery.”
The fourth and final grand slam of the year is set to start at Flushing Meadows in New York on August 28.
Zhang’s withdrawal will end a run of 374 consecutive weeks in the top 100, dating back to February 1, 2016.
“I hope she can recover and return as soon as possible,” one fan wrote on Weibo, where the news of her withdrawal was trending.
Zhang is a two-time major champion in doubles, having won the 2019 Australian Open and the 2021 US Open, both alongside Samantha Stosur. She also finished as a runner-up at Wimbledon in 2022 with Elise Mertens.
A two-time major singles quarter-finalist, she reached a career-high singles ranking of No 22 in January, but things have gone downhill quickly since.
Zhang’s run of poor form began after this year’s Australian Open.
She said in an interview with Chinese media in Melbourne, where she lost in the fourth round of the singles, that she was hurting mentally and physically.
Zhang then fell at the first hurdle at the French Open, and again in the opening round at Wimbledon, two weeks before an incident in Hungary that saw fears grow for her wellbeing.
“Wait, wait, wait! Keep the mark,” Zhang yelled after Hungary’s Toth erased the ball mark during their round-of-32 match in Budapest. “What are you doing? Why would you do that?”
She looked visibly distressed at the changeover and a physio was called to check on her before she retired at 6-5 down in the opening set.
At Roland Garros, where she lost her opening match to Magdalena Frech 6-1, 6-1 in just 49 minutes, hitting seven double faults and winning only 11 points on her serve, Zhang reportedly “could not speak for sobbing” when speaking to Chinese media in Paris.
She had also lost 6-0, 6-0 to Anna-Lena Freidsam at the Strasbourg Open the previous week.
“[Zhang] didn’t play at the Toyko Olympics, and she had big conflicts with the Chinese Tennis Federation,” one Chinese tennis reporter tweeted at the time.
“Under tremendous pressure and mentally exhausted after almost three years without coming back to China.”
Zhang was not selected for the Tokyo team in 2021, despite being the highest-ranked Chinese player, amid reported tensions with officials after opting to play at Wimbledon before the Games.
