Fully focused on singles, Zhang Shuai: I am a 36-year-old rookie!

“She is a wonderful person and an excellent athlete, a player like a ‘gem.’ She is truly a great individual, and I wish her all the best in the future.”

After beating China’s Zhang Shuai 6-3, 6-2 in the third round of this year’s Wuhan Open, Gauff said this in an interview. Zhang Shuai, as the Chinese player who progressed the furthest in singles at this year’s Wuhan event, truly earned recognition for her performance.

The tournament is now approaching the semifinals stage, with the top four seeds all making it to the women’s singles semifinals. The matchups are as follows:

[1] Sabalenka vs. [6] Pegula

[3] Gauff vs. [7] Paolini

Among the semifinalists, Paolini’s advancement surprised fans the most. In the quarterfinals, she convincingly defeated former world No.1 Swiatek, who had suffered six consecutive losses prior. This victory not only prevented Swiatek from sweeping her this season but also gave Paolini an edge in the race for a spot at the year-end WTA Finals.

Although Zhang Shuai exited in the third round of this year’s Wuhan Open, her two wins boosted her confidence in singles. She stated that for the remaining tournaments this season, she will focus solely on singles competitions.

“The current Zhang Shuai is the best she’s ever been, but even better days are ahead! Though we are in our 30s or mid-30s, life is long, and the tennis journey is just beginning.”

Zhang Shuai has recently made many memorable statements. According to her schedule, she will compete this week in Osaka in the WTA 250 singles qualifiers, followed by the WTA 250 Guangzhou Open and WTA 250 Hong Kong Open singles events.

Additionally, Zhang is expected to participate in several ITF Challenger tournaments in Takasaki and Yokohama, Japan, in mid to late November. Through these events, she aims to improve her world ranking further to return to the top 100 and thereby gain direct entry into the main draw of next year’s Australian Open singles.

It is worth mentioning that during this Wuhan Open, several players including Kudermetova, Mertens, and Alexandrova collectively expressed their gratitude to Zhang Shuai. It turns out Zhang was endorsing a car brand and introduced it to these players during the tournament.

With the car brand’s logo appearing on the players’ apparel, these athletes also received corresponding advertisement fees (estimated to be a few thousand dollars), which serves as additional income for them.

Of course, such endorsements require players to have strong results and visibility. These players are well-known names competing on multiple fronts, making it a win-win situation for both the athletes and the brand.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Barbie)