Zhizhen Zhang

Sometimes one win can have giant implications.

When Zhang Zhizhen beat Sebastian Baez of Argentina 7-6 (5), 7-6 (11) at the Naples tournament in October 2022, it put him into the quarter-finals of an ATP event for only the second time, at the age of 26.

But that single victory wrote Zhang’s name into the history books, as he became the first Chinese man ever to be ranked inside the world’s top 100.

For a country with 1.4 billion people, it has been a long time in coming. While Li Na blazed a trail for Chinese women’s tennis in the 2010s, winning two Grand Slam titles, the men have lagged behind. Breaking into the world’s top 100 is therefore a massive milestone for Chinese men’s tennis, but Zhang says he’s just getting started.

“It’s been a while already so I don’t really feel some big difference,” he said in an interview. “I still do all the same stuff, same preparation and not much has changed. It’s because top 100 is not the final goal for me. It was a goal, of course, but not the last goal. I will keep trying to aim for a higher ranking.”

Things are beginning to change. An aggressive player with a big serve, Zhang is part of a talented generation of young Chinese men, including Wu Yibing, who looked for a while like he might pip Zhang to the top 100.

The two had already made history in September when they became the first Chinese men to qualify for a Grand Slam event at the US Open, just a month before Zhang broke the magic top 100 barrier.

For Zhang, having other Chinese players around him in the rankings to bounce off has made a real difference, lessening the burden of carrying a nation’s hopes on his shoulders.

“It is a little difficult because it’s always tough when you are alone, but the good thing is that I’m not really alone,” he said. “We have Wu Yibing and Shang Juncheng. We are quite close so I’m not the only one to carry these hopes of China. The three of us really want to give China a big presence in men’s tennis.”

Watching Li Na win the French Open title in 2011 and then at the Australian Open in 2014 was a massive inspiration to Zhang.

“Li Na was very successful and in China all the players are looking up to her,” he said. “I mean because of how she played and how she achieved the results. It is unbelievable really. All of us would like to be as good as her, but for us playing men’s tennis is a bit different. However, even though we are far from it, we would like to reach the same level of course.”

Zhang says he “likes to stay close to the court and I go for big shots … I’m not a fan of giving the initiative to my opponent,” he said.

That attitude should stand him in good stead, and as long as he keeps his ranking in the top 100 he is guaranteed entry into the Grand Slams. He began 2023 by playing in the Australian Open, his first direct entry into the main draw of a Slam.

That should provide the perfect platform for more progress. And he’s already setting his sights higher than just being in the top 100.

“In 2023 my goal is to try to have a new career-high ranking,” he said. “Therefore my goal will be top 50, play more ATP events and try to raise the level of my game. A big desire for me is to have my ranking high enough in order to play at the (2024) Olympic Games for China.”

WORDS BY SIMON CAMBERS