Photo courtesy of Zhang Shuai (right) and Mertens at the award ceremony on July 10, local time/Visual China
In the early morning of July 11th, Beijing time, in the 2022 Wimbledon women’s doubles final, Zhang Shuai and Mertens lost 2-6, 4-6 to the No. 2 seed Klečkova/Siniakova combination, and Zhang Shuai missed the chance. Won the first Wimbledon women’s doubles title, but also failed to win his third Grand Slam title. However, at the award ceremony after the game, Zhang Shuai said in his speech: “It is really special for me to reach the Wimbledon final for the first time. Thank you Elise for taking me to the center court. Congratulations to Barbara and Katerina, you guys played great. I hope we can play here again next time.” For Zhang Shuai, tennis is still special, and it’s still worth playing in the dark.
At the age of 33, Zhang Shuai seems to have turned a new page in himself. In today’s women’s tennis, Zhang Shuai has become a special existence. This season, although Zhang Shuai’s performance is not the best one, he must be the most popular one. Since the clay season, Zhang Shuai has teamed up with new players to compete in doubles at every match. From the French Open to the Wimbledon mixed doubles competition, in Zhang Shuai’s words, male players lined up to invite her to play mixed doubles.
At the age of 33, Zhang Shuai originally classified himself as an old player who could no longer play the ball. In this year’s grass season in Birmingham, Zhang Shuai fought in both singles and doubles, and all reached the final. After he was finally unable to continue the competition due to exhaustion of his physical strength, Zhang Shuai laughed at himself, as a 33-year-old Chinese old aunt, he was a little unstoppable. At this time, her opponent, Brazil’s Maya, said, “No, Zhang Shuai, you are the most energetic player I have ever seen.”
Zhang Shuai in the past did not live as clearly and transparently as he does now. Today, she no longer competes with the referee over whether a shot is good or bad, and she no longer sets herself up as an imaginary opponent. Today’s Zhang Shuai just wants to constantly explore the tennis world and use the limited time to achieve more achievements.
This year’s Wimbledon, Zhang Shuai once again got this opportunity. In the singles arena, Zhang Shuai won two consecutive rounds, and finally ended the singles competition with the top 32. In the doubles arena, Zhang Shuai and Mertens, as the top seeds of the women’s doubles at Wimbledon, launched an impact on new achievements. In Zhang Shuai’s words, she had not been able to play a doubles semifinal on the center court of Wimbledon before.
During this year’s Wimbledon, Zhang Shuai used his strength to realize his wish. In the previous four rounds, Zhang Shuai’s combination defeated the opponent without losing a set and entered the final. The No. 2 seed Krečkova/Siniakova have been working together for a long time. The two have won four Grand Slam Women’s Doubles titles since 2018, including two French Opens, one Wimbledon and one Australian Open. In the face of such a strong combination, it is not easy for Zhang Shuai to win the Grand Slam women’s doubles championship for the third time. In the end, Zhang Shuai/Mertens lost in two sets to the better Klečkova/Siniakova and won the runner-up.
For Zhang Shuai, professional tennis has not only not become as familiar and numb as the workplace, but has also opened new chapters. This year’s Wimbledon Zhang Shuai has achieved a lot, and she won a prize of 255,000 pounds when she reached the top 32 in singles and the runner-up in women’s doubles. In terms of rankings, Zhang Shuai ranks second in the women’s doubles world and is expected to become the world‘s first this season. The 33-year-old Zhang Shuai is still moving forward.
Text / reporter Chu Peng