Chinese Athletes Achieve Historic Milestones at Wimbledon
Wimbledon: In the 55 previous editions held in the Open era, no Chinese male player had ever reached the second round of The Championships. However, that changed when Juncheng Shang and Zhizhen Zhang achieved this milestone with decisive victories on Day 1. Shang, who won 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 against 2022 quarter-finalist
Cristian Garin, expressed his excitement about winning on such a prominent stage, especially at Wimbledon. Known as “Jerry,” the 19-year-old Shang celebrated this career milestone alongside his fellow Chinese player, the No. 32-seeded Zhang, who also won in straight sets against Maxime Janvier.
This success signals a new era for Chinese men’s tennis, which has been in the shadow of two-time Grand Slam champion Li Na. Both Shang and Zhang have been inspired by their former world No. 2 countrywoman and are also motivated by each other’s achievements.
Wimbledon: Last year, Shang, Zhang, and Yibing Wu made history by being the first trio of Chinese men to compete in the main draw of a Grand Slam during the Australian Open, where Shang, at just 17, became the youngest contender and the first Chinese man to win a main draw match in Melbourne.
Wu furthered this success by becoming the first Chinese man to win an ATP singles title in Dallas, defeating a top-10 opponent and saving four championship points in the process. Both Shang and Zhang began their tennis careers on hard courts in China, later honing their skills abroad, with Shang moving to the IMG Tennis Academy in Florida at 13. Zhang remembers watching tennis legends in Shanghai and is now a celebrated figure at the Shanghai Masters.
Shang and Zhang recently excelled on grass courts, with Shang reaching the quarter-finals at Eastbourne and Zhang defeating No. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev to make the semi-finals at Halle, achieving a career-high world No. 33 ranking.
Shang, who had never played on grass until the Wimbledon boys’ tournament in 2021, now looks forward to his next match against Grigor Dimitrov, while Zhang prepares to face Jan-Lennard Struff. Their simultaneous matches on adjacent courts symbolized their parallel progress, with Zhang keeping an eye on Shang’s performance. Both players are hopeful and excited about their continued success.
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