In the qualifying rounds of the Shanghai Masters, the Chinese contingent once again experienced a disastrous start similar to the China Open, with Zheng Qinwen withdrawing due to injury and becoming an object of sympathy.

Following the completion of the first qualifying round at the Shanghai Masters, public commentary on Chinese players' performances once again echoed sentiments of "wildcards being severely wasted."

This edition of the Shanghai Masters maintained a policy of close-knit favoritism in wildcard allocation, particularly benefiting local players. Ignoring the main draw wildcards, five qualifying wildcards were granted to Chinese players: Cui Jie, Sun Fajing, Terigele, Liu Hanyi, and Xiao Linang were the lucky ones.

Before these five energetic young Chinese players took to the court, some remarked that since all Chinese players were eliminated in the first round of the China Open qualifiers in a disastrous start, such a scene would be unlikely at the Shanghai Masters; it was unimaginable that the Chinese team’s luck would be so poor as to repeat the China Open qualifying fiasco.

However, after the first-round matches of Cui Jie, Sun Fajing, Terigele, Liu Hanyi, and Xiao Linang concluded, the fact that fans and netizens all covered their eyes made it clear that the previously considered unlikely event had mercilessly occurred: the five Chinese players replicated the cruel scenario of a catastrophic opening round at the Shanghai Masters qualifiers just like at the China Open qualifiers.

When the China Open qualifying draw was announced, many expressed sympathy for Zhou Yi, Sun Fajing, Wang Aoran, and Hong Kong’s Wong Chak-lam over their tough draws. Although the Shanghai Masters five players did not have draws as unfavorable as those at the China Open qualifiers, their opponents were still quite strong.

Ranked 583rd in the world, Terigele faced the 21st seed in qualifying, French player Brownche, who may not be very well-known but is ranked 149th. This meant Terigele had no choice but to fight hard to advance.

Although ranking differences do not always determine match outcomes directly, Terigele’s eventual defeat by Brownche in straight sets 4-6, 3-6 showed that he still needs to work hard if he wants to compete and win against higher-ranked opponents.

After Terigele’s opening loss, he became the first member of the Chinese team to be eliminated from this year’s Shanghai Masters.

Following Terigele’s defeat, the next player, Cui Jie, faced the top seed in qualifying, Tabillo, and this made people even less optimistic about the possibility of an upset.

Ultimately, Cui Jie found it very difficult to challenge Tabillo. After losing 3-6, 5-7, nearly everyone agreed that managing to keep the scoreline close was already commendable, given the opponent’s strong ability.

World No. 1135 Liu Hanyi faced Japanese veteran Yosuke Minaguchi. Before the match even started, fans and netizens in the live broadcast room expressed little interest in the final result, focusing instead on how many games Liu could take from the Japanese player.

Although everyone anticipated Liu’s loss, credit must be given to this young Chinese player for his decent performance.

Facing the powerful Minaguchi, pushing him to a tiebreak in the first set was already impressive, which is why when Liu lost the second set 2-6 and the match, many felt somewhat comforted by his effort.

The fourth player, Sun Fajing, was the most favored among the five. Considering his disappointing result at the China Open qualifiers, he was expected to play with renewed spirit to regain confidence. However, he still lost 5-7, 3-6 to Mayo, resulting in back-to-back first-round exits at the China Open and Shanghai Masters qualifiers.

With the most reliable elder brother Sun Fajing failing to secure a winning start, the final player, Xiao Linang, ranked 638th, was also not expected to defeat American Spizziri, and such skepticism was not unfounded.

In the first set, Xiao Linang could still trade points with the American and lost 4-6, a score that was acceptable. However, in the second set, he completely collapsed and was swept away without resistance.

After the matches, when discussing the performance of the five Chinese players in Shanghai qualifiers, some humorously suggested that the disappointment felt during the China Open qualifiers by the four Chinese players could now be let go.

Although Chinese players also exited in the first round at the China Open qualifiers, their matches were very competitive, with two players losing only after three sets; in contrast, all five players at the Shanghai Masters qualifiers lost in straight sets, none managing to extend their matches to three sets.

With the Chinese players collapsing at the start of the Shanghai Masters qualifiers, fans and netizens were still unable to recover from their sorrowful exits when Zheng Qinwen, the last Chinese singles hopeful reaching the third round of the China Open, ended her journey in a similarly shocking manner.

Everyone knew Zheng Qinwen’s match against Noskova would be tough, but no one expected her to withdraw and concede the entire match.

After losing the first set 4-6 and bouncing back to win the second 6-3, many believed Zheng had a chance to turn the match around. Unexpectedly, after just three games in the deciding set, Zheng retired due to injury, causing a stir in public opinion.

Zheng Qinwen’s exit in the third round of the China Open, missing the chance to match last year’s semifinal performance, was already hard for supporters to accept. If her injury worsens and affects future tournaments, fate would be especially cruel to her, adding another layer of sympathy to her situation.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Moonlight River’s Starry Sky)