After this year's French Open, I always wanted to write About Shuai.
There have been several times when the article has begun, and I still haven't written it, because the time has not yet come, or the impulse to write has not yet accumulated to the desired level.
What am I waiting for?
Honestly, I'm waiting for her to win a title – I'm sure she'll get it.
On 3 June, Zhang Shuai won four consecutive games in the WTA250 Nottingham Meadows tournament to reach the final, losing 2-6, 1-6 to British homegrown player Conta, passing the third singles title of his career.
I thought Zhang Shuai would be very sad, but she acted very generously.
After the match, Zhang Shuai congratulated Conta through personal social media, saying that the opponent had performed well in the past week and played at a high level. At the same time, she thanked those who have supported her despite her constant failures, stressing that she will "never stop the pursuit of becoming a better player".
At noon Beijing time yesterday, Zhang Shuai's partner Stosur defeated Dabrowski/Stephanie 7-5, 6-3 in the WTA 1000 Cincinnati women's doubles match, and joined forces again after the 2019 Australian Open to win the cup, winning their third doubles title since the duo.
At the award ceremony, the 37-year-old Stosur said emotionally to Zhang Shuai: "I miss the days with you, thank you for partnering with me again." The jackpot you wanted, we got now. ”
Indeed, Zhang Shuai finally won the championship trophy. People who understand her naturally know what this heavy trophy means to Zhang Shuai.
After this year's French Open, there are two choices in front of several Chinese female players - to return to China to prepare for the Olympic Games, or to stay in Europe to play on grass.
Wang Qiang and Zheng Saisai chose to return to China to prepare for the Olympic Games, and Zhang Shuai, Wang Yafan, Wang Xinyu, Wang Xiyu and other four people stayed in Europe to start the grass season. The three Ms. Wang's grass race results were not ideal, and after playing Wimbledon, they each played one or two tournaments to end their European journey.
Only Zhang Shuai persisted.
Accompanied by his mother and coach Liu Shuo, Zhang Shuai played four tournaments in the UK, and in late July, he went to Italy and Switzerland to participate in two clay races. Not only is the schedule very dense, Zhang Shuai's nine races, including the French Open, eight of the matches are singles and doubles.
After the End of the European Season, Zhang Shuai rushed to North America to start the hard-court season.
At the WTA500 in San Jose, USA, Zhang Shuai defeated British rising star Raducano, who shined at Wimbledon, in the first round, beat Case in the second round, and lost to Connew in the quarter-finals. In doubles, Zhang Shuai partnered with Japanese player Hotaru Huili to stop the second round.
Zhang Shuai then came to Canada to participate in the WTA1000 Montreal competition. After meeting Conta in the first round of singles, Zhang Shuai won the first set 6-4 and retired from the tournament due to a left leg injury when he fell behind 2-5 in the second set.
After coming to Cincinnati, Zhang Shuai singles defeated World No. 35 Putinseva in the first round. In terms of doubles, Zhang Shuai partnered Stosur again, and the two won the first four games until the third set, and won the championship in two straight sets in the final.
It is worth mentioning that Zhang Shuai's doubles partner at WTA250 Birmingham is her opponent in the Cincinnati doubles final, Canada's Dablauski, who just won the women's doubles title in the previous WTA 1000 Montreal. In addition, Dabrowski also partnered with China's xu Yipan for a long time before last year, winning the women's doubles championship in Miami in 2017 and Beijing in 2018.
Since the French Open, Zhang Shuai has played a total of 9 singles and doubles so far, with singles prizes of US$212,348, doubles prizes of US$66,968, and singles and doubles prizes totaling US$279,316, or about RMB1.816 million (before tax).
Looking back on the difficult journey of the past 3 months, Zhang Shuai's path is obviously different from that of several other girls. Zhang Shuai played the tour alone abroad, while several others played the Olympic Games and stayed at home to play the National Games. We have no way of knowing the reasons behind the two choices, let alone the right way to judge which way is better.
We can only guess from Zhang Shuai's eyes and actions after winning the championship, how important this championship is, this championship is an account for her persistent efforts, and it is also the best and most powerful response to those who doubt her.
After Zhang Shuai won the championship, Coach Liu Shuo, who has been accompanying her to the tour, wrote on Weibo: "Rainy days will always pass, and sunny days are still brilliant." The process of climbing up from the bottom of the mountain is far more exciting and motivating than standing on the peak! Stosur said that in the next US Open, she will continue to partner Zhang Shuai to participate in women's doubles matches.
When Zhang Shuai won the championship in Cincinnati, it coincided with the night of the full fifteenth moon, a full moon hung high in the sky, and the big trophy shone brightly in the moonlight.
Whoever does not have a storm and a strong rain, keep the clouds open to see the moon. (Source: Tennis House Author: Yun Cirrus Yunshu)
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