Shuai Zhang, the two-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, finally ended a 603-day run of 24 straight WTA singles losses. China’s Zhang had not won a singles match between February 2023 and September of this year; her most recent triumph came against Madison Brengle. Zhang had a run of sixteen consecutive defeats before taking a six-month break and then losing eight more matches.
Madeleine Pegel lost her first 29 matches over a four-year span between 1968 and 1972, making her the only player in the Open Era to lose more than 24 straight.
But in the opening round of the China Open, the former world no. 22 player prevailed over American McCartney Kessler in two close tiebreaks.
Zhang is the lowest-ranked player to have ever participated in the tournament history and was a wildcard into Beijing. The 35-year-old used her protected ranking, which grants her eight entries into events, after taking a break from the WTA Tour.
She talked about it and said: “I played a lot of great players: Pliskova, Shnaider, Kudermetova, Kasatkina. It was like before when I lost the first round at the Grand Slams all the time. I think that this is the perfect timing. My first win at a WTA tournament was 15 years ago at the China Open, and then the next day I beat the number one player [Dinara Safina in 2009].”
After 24 consecutive losses, Zhang Shuai FINALLY wins a match by defeating Kessler in Beijing. 🇨🇳 pic.twitter.com/4e2eWhlohk
— Relevant Tennis (@RelevantTennis) September 25, 2024
Zhang in Beijing, ranking, and results in 2024
Now ranked no.595, Shuai has managed to achieve an overall 1-8 win-loss record in 2024. Zhang is now playing in Beijing where she overcame the world no.65 Mccartney Kessler 7-6(5) 7-6(1).
Shuai Zhang will come up against the world no.8 Emma Navarro in the 2nd round. In the past, they have never competed against each other until now in top tournaments.
