Black Wednesday! Zhang Shuai exits in first round, three Chinese players all lose; Bu Yun Chao Ke Te's defeat most regrettable; ZZZ faces former opponent he defeated.

Three minutes a day, know all tennis news. Hello tennis fans, today is Wednesday, March 18, 2026. Welcome to listen and watch the News Midday Report provided by "Tennis Home".

First, let's focus on the latest reports from Chinese players. In a key match of the WTA1000 Miami singles first round concluded early this morning Beijing time, Chinese veteran Zhang Shuai was not in good form and was eliminated in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 by Romanian player Cosmina, who fired 14 aces, suffering a first-round exit.

Chinese player Yuan Yue, competing in the final round of the singles qualifying draw, also failed to win, losing 2-6, 6-2, 4-6 to Australian player Birrell, missing out on a main draw spot.

Two Chinese players competing in the final round of the ATP1000 Miami Masters singles qualifying draw also lost successively, failing to advance. Among them, Bu Yun Chao Ke Te lost 3-6, 6-3, 5-7 to Ferry; Huang Ze Lin lost 2-6, 6-3, 3-6 to Busse. Bu had led 4-1 in the deciding set but ultimately lost 5-7, a pity! Thus, all four Chinese players competing that day lost, suffering four defeats, encountering a Black Wednesday.

Let's turn to the WTA1000 Miami tournament. In the last match of the first day concluded this morning Beijing time, Colombian player Osorio performed excellently, winning comfortably 6-1, 6-4 against Czech star Siniakova, securing an opening victory.

Other matches: Turkish player Semmez defeated Brazil's top player Maya 6-3, 6-2, earning her first tournament win. Next, she will face Swiss star Bencic; Poland's second-ranked player Linette reversed French player Gracheva 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 with a bagel, and will face compatriot top player Swiatek in the second round; German veteran Siegemund performed well, eliminating Croatian player Masinko 6-4, 6-4. In the second round, she will face Philippines' top player Eala.

Former Australian Open champion, American star Kenin was reversed by Russian player Blinkova 3-6, 6-1, 6-3, suffering an opening loss. The victorious Russian will face Canadian rising star Mboko in the second round; British player Bolt, after narrowly winning the first set tiebreak 11-9, pressed on to win the second set 6-4, eliminating Spanish player Manero in straight sets; American player Kessler came from behind to reverse Polish player Fletzer 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Australian player Tomljanovic and French player Jacmot also defeated their respective opponents, advancing to the second round.

Beijing time tonight at 11 PM, the ATP1000 Miami Masters will commence. On the first day of play, Chinese player Zhang Zhizhen will take the stage, facing French left-handed player Mannarino. The two had one previous encounter at the 2024 Rome tournament, where Zhang Zhizhen won in straight sets. This is their first meeting on hard court, good luck to ZZZ! Stars like Tsitsipas, Berrettini, Dimitrov, Hurkacz will also compete on the first day.

Finally, a guess and recognition game. The image below shows a player training. Without hints, can you recognize who he is?

For last period's guess, fans provided the correct answer. Indeed, the person in the image is Argentine legend Nalbandian.

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Independent Thinker)