With a wave of four consecutive wins, in 2025, Zhu Lin entered the finals of the Hope Tournament for the first time

There are different levels of tennis tournaments. Of these events, only the Hope Race, which runs from start to finish of the year, is also the most numerous. Not only that, but many players who have had a good record in Grand Slams and tours will also appear in the Hope Tournament for various reasons, so it is not easy to get a good record in the Hope Tournament. Last week, a Chinese player set his best record of the 2025 season at the Hope Tournament. So, who is the Chinese player? How did she perform last week? Today, let the humble article take you to see it.

That player is Zhu Lin, who won her first career tour victory back in 2014. In the ten years since, Zhu Lin has been improving every year. In 2023, she reached the round of 16 of her first career Grand Slam and won her first tour title in Thailand. Unfortunately, after reaching the round of 32 of her career's first grass-court Grand Slam in 2024, Zhu Lin withdrew from the remaining tournaments due to injury, and her world ranking fell all the way.

She will make a comeback in 2025, but before last week, Zhu Lin's record was not satisfactory, and she had never reached the main event of the tour, whether it was a challenge or a hope tournament, Zhu Lin failed to reach the quarterfinals. As she gets older, many times, she has gradually been forgotten by the fans.

Under such circumstances, Zhu Lin did not give up, and last week she played as the fifth seed in the tournament in the Gaoyang Hope Tournament. In the first round, Zhu Lin only allowed India's V Chaudhari to win five games, and after sweeping the hurdles, she made it to the second round and will face the challenge of American qualifier Zhu Yuqi. In the first set of this match, the two sides fought fiercely to the point of seven, but fortunately, Zhu Lin disrupted the opponent's rhythm with her forehand and backhand attack, and won the game with difficulty. In the second set, Zhu Lin, who was already familiar with the offensive characteristics of her opponent, did not give her opponent a chance and defeated her opponent 6:3 to enter the quarterfinals of the Gaoyang Hope Tournament for the first time in the 2025 season.

Zhu Lin's opponent in the quarterfinals is Japan's Hiromi Abe. The player had just beaten the tournament's top seed, China's Zheng Yushuang, and his morale was at his peak. In this match, Zhu Lin finally defeated her opponent with difficulty after three sets of fierce battles, and entered the semifinals of the Hope Tournament for the first time in the 2025 season. In the semi-finals, Zhu Lin ushered in a compatriot derby, and her opponent was Guo Hanyu, who had won the Challenger not long ago. After two straight sets, Zhu Lin defeated her opponent and entered the final of the Hope Tournament for the first time in the 2025 season. With a four-game winning streak, she is back inside the top 300 in the world rankings.

Despite losing to Indonesia's J Tjen in the final and finishing as runner-up, Zhu Lin still had her best record of the 2025 season. What's more, as she rose up the world rankings, she gradually regained her form and confidence. I believe that in the future competition, Zhu Lin will definitely have a good performance, so let's wait and see.(Source: Tennis Home Author: Yixin Jushi)