It was a tough day for China’s tennis hopefuls at the Australian Open as Wang Xiyu, Zhang Shuai, and Wang Yafan all bowed out of the women’s singles competition in the second round. The trio’s exit follows the shocking defeat of Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen on Wednesday, marking an early end to China’s singles journey in Melbourne this year. 😢
Wang Xiyu came closest to breaking the curse, pushing World No. 8 Emma Navarro to a dramatic three-set thriller. After dropping the first set 6-3, Wang roared back to take the second 6-3 and even led 2-0 in the decider. But Navarro, channeling her inner ✨Final Boss energy✨, clawed back to seal the match 6-4. 🎾
Earlier, Zhang Shuai fell 6-2, 6-1 to Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva, while Wang Yafan couldn’t hold off Russia’s Daria Kasatkina, losing 6-2, 6-0. With these defeats, all eight Chinese women’s singles players and three men’s contenders have now exited the tournament.
Despite the setbacks, fans are already looking ahead to future matches—and whether China’s next-gen stars can level up their game. 🌟
