After 13 years, 37-year-old Zhang Shuai has achieved her revenge!

The most notable event on this week's tour is definitely the competition at the WTA1000 Dubai stop. Even with numerous top players pulling out, the women's singles final lineup remains impressive. Fourth seed Pegula overcame seventh seed Svitolina with a 6-2, 6-4 score to win her first singles championship of the year.

This marks Pegula's fourth WTA1000-level singles title in her career and her tenth tour-level championship overall as an American player.

Svitolina's sluggish performance in the final was mainly due to the toll from her previous match, where she spent over three hours battling Gauff in the semifinals.

“This week, we've all been talking about the reality of players withdrawing, but what I mean is that four top-ten players reached the semifinals, and several others made it to the quarterfinals. This shows the high level of women's tennis, with strong performances week after week. Even with many players pulling out and some top stars missing, it doesn't mean we can't deliver exciting tennis matches.”

As the Dubai tournament concluded, the WTA500 Mérida event commenced. In the first round of the women's singles qualifiers, 37-year-old Chinese star Zhang Shuai faced off against Petter. The two previously met at the 2013 Guangzhou Open, where Zhang unfortunately lost.

Meeting again after more than 13 years, Zhang defeated her opponent in straight sets 6-3, 6-4, completing a long-awaited revenge. According to the draw, Zhang's next opponent will be Italian veteran Trevisan. They have met twice before, with Zhang winning both matches. Fans look forward to Zhang continuing her winning streak to enter the main draw.

Notably, after earning 13 ranking points and $8,600 prize money from the first qualifying round, Zhang's current ranking has risen to No. 80, finally ending her recent losing streak.

Actually, there were supposed to be two Chinese players in this year's Mérida singles qualifiers. The other player, Guo Hanyu, had a strong showing at the WTA125 Midland tournament and recently defeated American Stoyana 7-6, 6-7, 7-5 in the semifinals. Guo withdrew from Mérida due to scheduling conflicts after reaching the final.

Fortunately, she performed excellently in this WTA125 event, reaching the final as an unseeded player. After earning 81 points, her world ranking has climbed to No. 156. This is the first time this Chinese star has reached the final at this level of tournament. We wish her continued success in making history!(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Barbie)