Paris Olympics: missing shoes and costly flights led China tennis pair to gold medal shot
- Wang Xinyu and Zhang Zhizhen are playing in the mixed doubles final at Roland Garros, but they weren’t even supposed to be partners
The mixed doubles pairing with a shot at winning a historic tennis gold medal for China at the Paris Olympics was only formed at the last minute, and even that was a rushed affair.
Wang Xinyu and Zhang Zhizhen clinched their spot in Friday’s final with victory over Dutch duo Demi Schuurs and Wesley Koolhof, and could now win their country’s first gold in the event.
But if things had gone to plan, neither would have been in the French capital to take part in the opening round, let alone the final against Siniakova Katerina and Machac Thomas of the Czech Republic.
Thrown together because Zheng Qinwen decided to withdraw to focus on her women’s singles, Wang said she did not even have a pair of shoes for their first game, while both she and Zhang said they had been looking for flights home after seeing how badly the heat was taking its toll on players.
“I was looking at flight tickets in the afternoon and almost booked it,” Wang said. “Because it’s a bit expensive, I wanted to wait and check again.”
And it was only because China’s initial first-round opponents, Croatia’s Mate Pavic and Donna Vekic, pulled out and were placed by lower-ranked Brazil pair Stefani Luisa and Thiago Seyboth Wild that Zhang and Wang were able to play together at all.
