Zhang Shuai wins the title and is recognized by the WTA as a national pride; what happened to the 15-year-old Chinese girl aiming for the Australian Open championship?

Seeing the Five-star Red Flag accompany Zhang Shuai as she moved, lighting up the entire Australian Open stadium in red, this moment was forever fixed in everyone’s minds, becoming another proud and exciting highlight for Chinese tennis.

This year at the Australian Open, Zhang Shuai partnered with Belgian star Mertens; from their very first match, they pressed the accelerator and made it all the way to the doubles final.

In the final against Krunic and Danilina, despite the opponents’ tough resistance at critical moments, Zhang Shuai and Mertens held firm under pressure and clinched the Australian Open doubles championship in straight sets.

After the match, the image of the two girls wrapped in their national flags embracing each other caused continuous cheers from the fans on site and deeply moved viewers and netizens watching the live broadcast, many of whom said that seeing Zhang Shuai’s tears of joy made their own tears flow as well.

At the moment Zhang Shuai claimed the doubles title, the WTA’s official recognition dedicated to Chinese tennis stars arrived instantly: “The first player from mainland China to win three Grand Slam women’s doubles titles!”

With this Australian Open doubles title alongside Mertens, Zhang Shuai surpassed the previous record held by Zheng Jie and Yan Zi, instantly becoming the top doubles player domestically and setting a new unprecedented record in mainland China tennis.

After the match, seeing Zhang Shuai draped in the national flag, alternating between smiles and tears, some fans and netizens joked that her composure was incredible—if it were them achieving such a remarkable feat, they would have been crying uncontrollably. The reasons are many: Zheng Jie, a pioneer of Chinese doubles tennis, witnessed the scene live, and Stosur, her doubles partner from seven years ago who won the Australian Open, served as the award presenter. Zhang Shuai had countless reasons to let her joyful tears flow freely to express her happiness and excitement.

The Chinese Tennis Association promptly sent congratulations following the WTA’s announcement, viewing Zhang Shuai’s Australian Open title as “the best testament to her nearly two decades of passion and hard work in her professional career.” At the same time, they expressed high hopes for her to take on a leadership role, “to play a ‘passing on and mentoring’ role, helping more young players grow and contributing more to the high-quality development of Chinese tennis.”

After the award ceremony, Zhang Shuai updated her personal social media, celebrating her third Grand Slam doubles title in her career with the words: “Today I can finally say: I have brought glory to my motherland! We are Grand Slam champions.”

Fans and netizens quickly responded to Zhang Shuai, saying, “You did great, the motherland is proud of you.”

It can be said that Zhang Shuai’s way of interacting with everyone after the match perfectly hit the excitement point of fans and netizens, making her victory celebration message receive a huge number of likes and comments.

Of course, this championship also made Zhang Shuai the top earner in the Chinese tennis contingent at this Australian Open. Competing in singles, mixed doubles, and doubles, the Chinese star finally took home AUD 562,000 in prize money, equivalent to over 2.73 million RMB.

Besides Zhang Shuai, who was highly anticipated before the tournament for winning titles, there was another person drawing attention at this Australian Open: 15-year-old Chinese rising star Sun Xinran.

Sun Xinran caught the public’s eye for two reasons: first, she recently won the Orange Bowl in the U.S., setting a new record for Chinese tennis; second, she boldly declared her goal to win the Australian Open.

When competing in this year’s Australian Open junior girls’ singles, Sun Xinran attracted attention because she arrived in Melbourne carrying the J300 singles championship title.

Moreover, since she defeated the top two seeds in the Australian Open junior girls’ singles on her way to that title, many were eager to see if Sun Xinran could first secure a junior singles championship and then make a big impact on the adult professional circuit at the Australian Open.

Unfortunately, Sun Xinran’s run ended in the junior girls’ singles quarterfinals at the Australian Open, and unlike Zhang Shuai, she couldn’t ignite wild cheers by winning the final championship.

Looking back, Sun Xinran’s exit in the Australian Open junior girls’ singles quarterfinals was quite regrettable.

In the quarterfinal against Russian player Tupitsyna, Sun Xinran took the first set 6-3 and led 5-4 in the second set with a chance to serve for the match. However, she was broken and lost the second set 5-7. In the deciding set, due to physical discomfort and overly cautious play in crucial points, she lost 5-7, shattering hopes that she would claim the title.

However, fans comforted the 15-year-old Chinese rising star after the match, emphasizing that her long-term vision matters more than this junior title. Missing out on the Australian Open junior singles championship is not critical; when she turns professional and shines at Melbourne Park, it will be the right time for everyone to celebrate wildly for her!(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Moonlit River’s Starry Sky)