The 2025 season ended in a flash, taking only 50 minutes, and Zhang Shuai earned a new title: the tennis special forces soldier.

Zhang Shuai’s 2025 season has finally wrapped up! Yet, no one anticipated that the 36-year-old Chinese star would conclude it in such an extraordinary manner!

After an early singles exit at the Limoges 125 event, the scenario of “when one door closes, another opens” repeated itself with Zhang Shuai. Without the burden of singles, the Chinese star devoted all her focus and energy to doubles, advancing straight to the doubles final of this 125 tournament and astonishing everyone again.

Many people admitted at the time that if Zhang Shuai could finish her personal 2025 season with a doubles title in her last match, it would be perfect.

However, considering that her doubles final opponents were the French home players Ponchet and Jacquemot, some were worried that Zhang Shuai and Buksa, facing a local duo with the home-court advantage, might find it difficult to meet everyone’s expectations.

But once the match started, Zhang Shuai’s team showed strong dominance in the first set, and the French pair struggled to compete. This completely erased pre-match concerns and took the suspense out of the doubles final’s outcome early on.

When Zhang Shuai and Buksa swept Ponchet and Jacquemot 6-3, 6-1 in just 50 minutes to claim the title, many found it hard to believe the Chinese star and her partner finished so quickly. Some netizens humorously suggested that besides her “workhorse” nickname, Zhang Shuai deserves a new title: the tennis special forces soldier.

The implication was that in this Limoges doubles final, Zhang Shuai played with breathtaking efficiency, turning what was predicted to be a tightly contested match into an almost one-sided lightning battle, with many barely having time to react before it was over.

Winning the doubles title at Limoges also marked the official end of Zhang Shuai’s personal 2025 season.

After the match, while everyone was discussing Zhang Shuai’s doubles victory, some fans and netizens openly said that this perfectly timed championship seemed like fate’s blessing for her 2025 finale.

One of Zhang Shuai’s doubles opponents, Jacquemot, had just finished a singles final that lasted 2 hours and 37 minutes before appearing in this doubles final.

Seeing the French player undergo such a huge physical toll and with almost no rest before the doubles final, many expressed that Zhang Shuai and Buksa’s opportunity had arrived, hoping they would seize this golden chance and not lose the title.

The sudden rise in expectations for Zhang Shuai’s team stemmed from the fact that doubles requires high-level teamwork. With Jacquemot exhausted, even if Ponchet was playing her best and had home advantage, the rested Zhang Shuai duo’s chances to clinch the doubles crown were naturally enhanced.

As it turned out, with Jacquemot almost unable to resist, Ponchet alone couldn’t hold the line, making the French pair easy prey for Zhang Shuai and Buksa, who inevitably secured the championship.

However, some said that although luck played a part in Zhang Shuai’s title, opportunity favors the prepared. If Zhang Shuai and Buksa hadn’t performed well, even the best chance wouldn’t guarantee victory. Thus, it was their skill and ability to seize the moment that earned Zhang Shuai this Limoges doubles title, bringing her career doubles trophy count to 50.

After Zhang Shuai officially entered her off-season mode, a netizen asked an interesting question: “Sister Shuai single-handedly boosted Chinese fans’ enthusiasm during the break, but now without her matches, it feels strange. When will we see her back on court?”

The wait won’t be long; Zhang Shuai will return to competition in about half a month.

According to Zhang Shuai’s 2026 tournament schedule, she will start the new season in Brisbane, followed by Adelaide just before the Australian Open, both being WTA 500 events.

Notably, Zhang Shuai plans to compete in both singles and doubles at these Australian Open warm-up tournaments. This has many eager to see if the momentum from her Limoges doubles victory will help her bring new surprises early in the 2026 season, creating great anticipation!(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Moon River’s Starry Sky)