Zhang Shuai may have a fairytale Beijing run in the making after the world No. 595 upset sixth-seeded Emma Navarro to reach the China Open round-of-16, just a day after winning her first WTA match in 603 days.
Going into this week’s WTA 1000 tournament, the Chinese had been without a win since 2023 January and had lost her last 24 matches. But playing as a wildcard, the former world No. 22 managed to beat McCartney Kessler 7-6 (5) 7-6 (1) and avoid setting a new record for the most consecutive losses on the Tour. Previously, Madeleine Pegel lost 29 matches in a row in the early days of the Open Era.
And after making sure she would not break one of the worst tennis records, Zhang – whose 24 consecutive losses were still the second most in Tour history – proceeded to upset 2024 US Open semifinalist Navarro 6-4 6-2 in their first meeting.
On paper, it may seem like the 35-year-old routinely beat the American tennis star. But the truth is that the world No. 8 also had her chances but just didn’t convert.
World No. 595 Shuai Zhang upset No. 8-ranked and US Open semi-finalist Emma Navarro 6-4, 6-2 in a 2nd round match. With the home court advantage, Zhang fed off the energy of the Chinese crowd to secure her first Top 10 win since 2022 Tokyo. #2024ChinaOpen #AllForPassion…
