Despite being eliminated in the quarterfinals, Zhu Chenting has still achieved a new milestone in her professional career.

Since March 5, 2022, when player Shang Juncheng broke through the qualifying rounds of the Indian Wells Masters to become the first Chinese male tennis player to reach the main draw from a Masters event, Chinese men's tennis has made numerous breakthroughs in various tournaments over the past three years. However, unfortunately, no player has been able to reach the heights achieved by Shang Juncheng.

Since the 2025 season, several young Chinese female players born after 2007 have achieved impressive results in the Hope Tournament. Among them are Geng Xinle, who won seven consecutive matches to reach the finals; Wang Yuhan and Zhang Yunhan, who both performed well in the Chinese leg of the Hope Tournament, making it to the semifinals. However, the most outstanding among them is the protagonist of this article. In the 2025 season, she not only continues to achieve new milestones in her career but also represents a breakthrough for the young Chinese female players born after 2007. So, who is this protagonist? Let's find out in this article.

This player is Zhu Chenting. In the 2023 season, during her first year on the WTA professional tour, Zhu Chenting secured her first victory in the Hope Tournament in Shenzhen. That year, she climbed from unranked to the 1323rd position, taking a full year to do so. Last season, although Zhu Chenting did not achieve new breakthroughs, she still managed to improve her world ranking by over two hundred places. Undoubtedly, this is also a significant improvement.

This year, with the season just beginning, Zhu Chenting has already made breakthroughs. With four consecutive victories, she reached the quarterfinals of the Hope Tournament for the first time, gaining confidence in the mysterious land of Egypt, home to the pyramids. At the end of February, she achieved another four consecutive wins here, becoming the first young Chinese female player born after 2007 to reach the finals of the Hope Tournament. Although she ultimately lost to her opponent, being able to push the Bulgarian player Shinikova, who is over six hundred places higher in the world rankings, to the deciding set is still a commendable achievement. In mid-May, Zhu Chenting consecutively defeated compatriots Li Jiayou, Zhang Yunhan, Guo Meiqi, and Lu Jingjing at the third Hope Tournament in Ma'anshan, making it to the finals for the first time on home soil. Unfortunately, in the final, she suffered a crushing defeat to Indonesian player Nugroho, finishing as the runner-up once again.

As the saying goes, "things do not happen more than three times." Indeed, at the end of June, at the seventh Hope Tournament in Ma'anshan, Zhu Chenting made a comeback after losing a set in the second round of qualifying, defeating compatriot Cai Jialan and advancing with difficulty. After that, she continued her winning streak, defeating compatriots An Liuyan, Jiang Zijun, Gao Ruirui, as well as Thai player P Kovapitukted and compatriots Wang Jiaqing and Guo Meiqi, ultimately winning her first Hope Tournament title. Notably, this is also the first time a young Chinese female player born after 2007 has won the Hope Tournament championship.

This week, Zhu Chenting appeared in the qualifying rounds of the Monastir Hope Tournament held in Tunisia. As a seeded player, she received a bye in the first round of qualifying; in the second round, Zhu Chenting easily defeated American player S Ben Aba and advanced smoothly; in the final round of qualifying, she fought through three sets to defeat British player A Dudeney and entered the main draw. However, in the first round of the main draw, Zhu Chenting faced the top seed, German player Hobgalski. Despite her significant progress, many believed that due to the vast ranking gap, Zhu Chenting might be eliminated here.

However, in the first set, Zhu Chenting unexpectedly took the lead by winning a tiebreak, gaining an advantage for advancement. However, in the second set, Hobgalski mounted a counterattack, handing Zhu Chenting a bagel and dragging the match into a deciding set. In the final set, Zhu Chenting completely controlled the match, delivering a decisive performance to defeat her opponent and advance. Notably, this is the highest-ranked player Zhu Chenting has defeated since entering the WTA professional circuit.

In the second round, she easily defeated Bulgarian qualifier Ivanova and advanced smoothly. Unfortunately, in the quarterfinals, despite giving it her all, Zhu Chenting lost to the seventh seed, Korean player Ku Y, and could not progress further. However, as Zhang Rui'en was eliminated in the first round of the Challenger event this week, Zhu Chenting's immediate world ranking surpassed hers, making her the highest-ranked player among those born after 2007. Objectively speaking, this is also a breakthrough. That concludes today's tennis story; stay tuned for more tomorrow.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Yixin Jushi)