Zhizhen Zhang brings men’s tennis to China. While the women’s tennis has been doing well for a long time, the Chinese men’s tennis has been sluggish. Until now. Zhang is breaking one record after another, climbing the world rankings and paving the way for the next generation of Chinese tennis players.
by Johanna Brauer
last edited: 07.08.2024, 07:37
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Things are going well for Chinese women’s tennis. The most recent example is Qinwen Zheng, number eight in the world rankings, who won the gold medal at the Olympic Games (on her way she defeated Kerber and number one Swiatek). In addition to Zheng, there are three other Chinese women in the top 50. And in the past, China has always been at the top thanks to Li Na.
Men’s tennis has been a weak point in Chinese sporting history. But with Zhizhen Zhang, nicknamed Triple-Z, that changed. The 27-year-old broke another record and is rewriting the history of Chinese men’s tennis. He is the first male Chinese player to crack the top 100 and then the top 50, the first Chinese to reach the quarterfinals of an ATP Tours 1000 tournament, the first to win 50 times at tour level and the first Chinese player to beat top 5 players, and the list goes on. His biggest win to date was at this year’s Halle Open, where he knocked out Daniil Medvedev in the second round. Things went well at the Olympic Games too – not in singles, but in mixed doubles, where Triple-Z won the silver medal together with Xinyu Wang.
“I am very proud to be the first Chinese in the top 100. There have been so many who have tried to achieve this. Before, there was a void in Chinese men’s tennis. Every step is another milestone in our tennis history,” explained Zhang, who reached his career peak in July this year with the position of world number 31. “I try to enjoy my tennis career,” explained the record breaker, who has a very positive and focused charisma both on and off the court. “And everything without pressure,” assured Zhang, who, in addition to his tennis career, also has many plans for his private future. The hard court specialist, who is hoping to win his first title on the ATP Tour this season, wants a house with a wife, children and a cat.
Zhang: “Learning tennis was a family decision”
The fact that Zhizhen Zhang became a tennis player was by no means a coincidence. “It was a family decision,” explained the 27-year-old. But the Chinese man was not only sent to tennis training, Zhang was also supposed to take swimming lessons. But for other reasons. “I was really fat when I was young. Believe me, I was really super fat,” Zhang assured with a laugh, “swimming was to get my weight down.” So ZZZ took up both sports. He learned tennis on hard courts, which are the main surface of Chinese tennis courts.
It is clear that Zhang’s family made the right decision by taking up tennis. However, the good results were slow to come. “You have to be patient,” advised the semi-finalist from Halle, who was not able to achieve the desired results in his junior years either. “You have to be patient, don’t get injured and then the results will come,” explained Zhang, because that was exactly how it was for him. With this positive mindset, the exceptional Chinese player was on the right track. He worked on himself, didn’t lose heart and was able to perform at his best at the age of 27. So you don’t always have to reach the peak of your tennis career in your early 20s. Sometimes you need time, Zhang is the best example.
2024-08-07 07:52:00
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