Chinese female tennis player Wang Qiang revealed after being eliminated by Samsonova in the first round of this year's US Open that this will be her last time competing in a Grand Slam. When 32-year-old Wang Qiang talked about her feelings about returning to the Grand Slam, she said that it is really difficult to overcome the jet lag when going abroad now. Looking back on Wang Qiang's career, under the leadership of her father, she bravely entered the Orange Bowl in the United States, defeated Serena Williams at the Australian Open, and won the championship in two consecutive Asian Games. The glory is still before her eyes. A beautiful career always seems short. Wang Qiang, a tennis hero who came from the grassroots, has come to the end of her career in the blink of an eye.
As China’s former No. 1 female tennis player, the news about Wang Qiang in the past two or three years has often had nothing to do with professional competitions. In addition to health and injuries, there is also news about love and engagement. This makes the outside world seem to have forgotten the glory that this Tianjin tennis star once achieved in the tennis world.
Wang Qiang’s world ranking was once ranked 12th. Her best results in the four Grand Slams were the top 8 in the United States, the top 16 in the Australian Open, and the third round at the French Open and Wimbledon. Wang Qiang has won the women's singles championship at the Incheon Asian Games and the Jakarta Asian Games, and is the only player to win consecutive tennis gold medals at the Asian Games.
Wang Qiang was once the player closest to the first echelon of WTA in the Chinese women's tennis team after Zheng Jie, Li Na and Zhang Shuai. Since 2015, under the coaching of Australian coach McNamara, Wang Qiang has defeated strong players such as Stevens, Muguruza, Venus Williams, and Barty, setting a new record for Chinese tennis. In the 2018 China Open, Wang Qiang defeated Sabalenka and became the fourth Chinese Golden Flower to reach the semi-finals of the China Open women's singles. In WTA Jiangxi Station and Guangzhou Station, Wang Qiang successfully reached the top again and won two career tour championships.
The 2022 season is Wang Qiang’s last relatively complete season. After participating in the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon, she announced the end of the entire season early due to injury after the Pan Pacific Open. Wang Qiang made a difficult comeback in early 2024. In addition to improving her world ranking through itf events, she also used her ranking protection to participate in this year's Wimbledon and US Open competitions.
In the two Grand Slam tournaments, Wang Qiang, who had not been in a world-class competition for a long time, was eliminated in one round. Compared with her peak days, Wang Qiang said that her current age and condition are no longer able to compete in the World Series. Not only has her muscle strength declined, but her ability to overcome jet lag has also weakened. "I know how difficult it will be to fight back. It's really too difficult. Not to mention leaving my family and career behind, I just don't want to go out." Wang Qiang said that after returning to China after playing Wimbledon this year, every day for the first 10 days I can only sleep for two or three hours.
Wang Qiang today is embarrassing, but Wang Qiang back then was terrifyingly strong. In the third round of the 2020 Australian Open, Wang Qiang met the popular American star Serena Williams. The match was held on New Year's Eve. Serena Williams has played against Chinese players 28 times in total and won 25 times. Wang Qiang did not disappoint the Chinese audience. She defeated Serena Williams in an upset and became the only Chinese player to defeat Serena Williams in a Grand Slam singles match.
Since Chinese tennis won the gold medal at the Athens Olympics, and from the strong rise of Li Na and Zheng Jie, Chinese tennis has been ranked first again and again. Wang Qiang is the first Chinese tennis player registered in Japan. She has worked with Chinese-Japanese coach Shimizu Shihide for 6 years and has developed the temperament of a professional player and has become a beautiful scenery in the professional tennis world.
In the eyes of fans, Wang Qiang's career was brilliant but short, and Wang Qiang felt more about luck and relief. She has made Chinese tennis history many times, and has also ushered in another wave of tennis craze in her career. Next, Wang Qiang will also play in this year's China season and make her debut at the China Open. As for where to go after next year's National Games, Wang Qiang has no clear plan yet. She said that now she just wants to adjust her physical and mental state. No matter what, she will not stay away from her love of tennis.
Text/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Chu Peng
editor/Wang Fan
