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Paul McNamara

Wang Xinyu and Zhang Zhizhen said the prospect of growing a tennis culture in China fuelled their storybook run to an Olympic silver medal in Paris.
Chinese tennis has been crying out for a successor to Li Na since the retirement of the two-times grand slam winner a decade ago.
Zheng Qinwen is in pole position to be the country’s next superstar player. The 21-year-old was competing for Olympic gold against lower-ranked Donna Vekic on Saturday (overnight in Hong Kong), eight months after reaching the 2024 Australian Open final.
Wang and Zhang won from one set down in each of their opening three matches at Roland Garros. They threatened to repeat the trick in the final, claiming the second set after dropping the opener against Czech couple Tomas Machac and Katerina Siniakova, but eventually lost a roller-coaster champions tiebreak 10-8.

“We did this for [Chinese people] to know tennis,” Zhang told the Post.
China has six women in the top 100, including Zheng at No 7 and 36th-placed Wang. The men are slowly joining the party, with Zhang ranked No 41 and exciting teenage hotshot Shang Juncheng at No 73 and quickly advancing during a breakout campaign.
Wang replaced Zheng on the eve of the mixed doubles tournament at Roland Garros, after the singles finalist withdrew to focus on her individual medal bid.
The 22-year-old said she had been inspired by Li’s French Open and Australian Open triumphs in 2011 and 2014, respectively, and wanted to have a similar impact on today’s young hopefuls.
“[Females] had Li Na, somebody to look up to, and that was important,” Wang told the Post.
“For me, and the Chinese players of a similar age, we’ve been building up on the tour for a few years. It is a process for us, and now we are doing well in singles, doubles and mixed doubles. Hopefully, we are attracting more attention and interest for tennis in China. I know that in my region [Shenzhen] more people are interested in tennis because of me.
“The tennis culture in China began later than in Europe and other countries, but because of the players we have on the men’s and women’s sides, it is getting better and better.”

Novak Djokovic told the Post he believed Zheng’s progress to the women’s Olympic final was “huge” in a number of respects. “It is huge for China and for our sport … China is a huge market,” he said.
If that market is going to be captured, the locals need turning on to tennis. And Wang said she had detected a notable change in how Chinese tennis players are viewed by their compatriots.
“I feel grateful being a tennis player,” Wang said. “We get a lot of respect around the tour, but that is also improving back home in China.
“Probably 10-15 years ago, not many people knew what tennis was. I am super happy about our progress.”
Zhang acknowledged the Chinese men were playing catch-up with their female counterparts.
“The women were always doing a really good job … but it is really important [for both sexes] to be strong and build Chinese tennis,” he said.
“Women’s tennis in China is really good, we were missing men’s tennis, but it is improving. We have good players, me and Jerry [Shang] are doing well, and we have more close to the top 100, like [22-year old world No 136] Bu Yunchaokete.”

Zhang said he had been struck by a social media post following the Chinese semi-final victory over Demi Schuurs and Wesley Koolhof from the Netherlands.
“A lady posted a picture of us celebrating after we won,” Zhang said. “She was asking the rules of tennis, she didn’t understand but still wanted to watch, which is incredible.
“If I don’t know the rules of other sports, like baseball or whatever, I am not going to watch for 10 minutes. We did this for them to know tennis.”
Zhang and Wang were China’s first Olympic tennis finalists since women’s doubles pair Li Ting and Sun Tiantian won gold in Athens 20 years ago.
“We are trying to make Chinese people watch tennis – it is not like before, when you watched finals and there were no Chinese guys or women,” Zhang added.
“What we are doing is good and, hopefully, Chinese people are becoming more focused on tennis. It is tough but we are trying.”


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Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Paris Olympics: Wang Xinyu, Zhang Zhizhen say helping grow Chinese tennis spurred dream run

China’s silver medallists Wang Xinyu (left) and Zhang Zhizhen say the people of China were becoming “more focused” on tennis. Photo: Reuters

Wang and Zhang after their mixed doubles final defeat to Tomas Machac (left) and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic. Photo: Reuters

Zheng Qinwen is primed to be to be China’s next superstar after her exploits in Paris, where she beat Polish world No 1, Iga Swiatek. Photo: AP

China’s up-and-coming Shang Juncheng in his second-round Wimbledon loss to Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov in July. Photo: EPA-EFE

Sun Yingsha: China’s No 1-ranked table tennis star eyes history, Olympic gold in Paris

Sun Yingsha could become the fastest Chinese player to win a table tennis grand slam with Olympic singles gold. Photo: Reuters

Sun Yingsha (right) sitting next to teammate and women’s singles gold rival Chen Meng, along with the rest of the team. Photo: Xinhua

Sun Yingsha overcame home favourite Mima Ito en route to a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Photo: Reuters

Sun Yingsha’s popular in China but will have to overcome compatriot Chen Meng if she wants to win more gold. Photo Reuters

Paris Olympics: China win tennis silver, badminton, diving gold - day 7 as it happened

China’s Wang Xinyu (left) and Zhang Zhizhen in action during the mixed doubles final at Roland Garros. Photo: AP

Who is China’s tennis star Zheng Qinwen? ‘Queen Wen’ a match away from Paris Olympic glory

China’s Zheng Qinwen has taken the women’s singles tennis event by storm at the Paris Olympics and is one win away from a gold medal. Photo: Xinhua

Zheng Qinwen stunned the tennis world when she overcame Iga Swiatek in Paris. Photo: Xinhua

Li Na’s 2011 triumph at Roland Garros acted as inspiration for Zheng Qinwen’s tennis career. Photo: EPA

Paris Olympics: missing shoes and costly flights led China tennis pair to gold medal shot

Wang Xinyu (left) and Zhang Zhizhen (right) are just one match away from winning a gold medal for China in the mixed doubles. Photo: Xinhua

Despite Wang Xinyu (left) and Zhang Zhizhen (right) being a last-minute pairing, they are guaranteed a medal in Paris. Photo: Xinhua

Sport

Paris Olympics 2024

China

The pair, who won Olympic silver in mixed doubles, are part of the latest wave sparking interest in the game that now also includes the men


The pair, who won Olympic silver in the mixed doubles, are part of the latest wave of Chinese stars sparking interest in the game that now also includes the men.


WTA (Women's Tennis Association)