Shuai Zhang

While for many people the Asian sporting scene has been growing for some time, few disciplines are seeing progress quite like Chinese tennis. For many youngers, too, the inspiration is the excellent Shuai Zhang. At 28, she’s now heading into her peak years where she will want to add to her solitary Singles WTA title that she has picked up.

Born in Tianjin, China, she resides in her hometown and plays out of her home nation. Having been pro since 2006, she’s been on the circuit since her late teens and has been an impressive role model for just about any female tennis player coming out of this circuit. Coached by the excellent Liu Shuo, Shuai Zhang has taken her game to a new level over the years, always showing a desire to improve and to take on a new level of competence on the court.

Her mother was a basketball player, and her father played soccer locally. With a sporting-mad family, then, it was no surprise to see that Zhang made her move into the sporting arena. at the age of six, she made her first steps into the sport, picking up a racquet at the local tennis club. There, she soon found a love for the sport and began to become engrossed in the game, making huge waves as a youngster.

By the age of 12, she was part of the Chinese Tennis Association and was playing at a high level. Already seen as a future national star, she continued to impress and improve as she became a more rounded player as time went on. Idolizing the likes of Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal, too, she has done a great job of taking some of their features and styles as a player to better herself.

When she isn’t playing tennis, Zhang can usually be found either listening to music, exploring the places that her career takes her, or taking photography.

Arguably her major achievements so far comes as the winner of the 2013 Guangzhou tournament, and she also reached the 2016 Australian Open quarter-finals. As a Doubles player, she has picked up four major wins at Pattaya City, Estoril, Guangzhou and Osaka.

Already a talented player with a huge following, continued success is only going to see her become an even more prominent name on the WTA circuit. Already ranked #31, the future only points to improvement for a player just entering her peak.