On the other side of the desert

"On this court, I feel like Rafa Nadal at Philippe Chatrier." The last person you would think has said this phrase is a tennis player who lost 24 consecutive matches. How many? Yes, 24, all the matches she played between January 2023 and September 2024. A real-life torture that Shuai Zhang had to endure, thus setting the worst streak in the history of tennis. Fortunately, every cloud has a silver lining.

The WTA 1000 in Beijing ended up being the relief the 35-year-old player had been seeking for over 600 days, putting an end to a 20-month victory drought. Suddenly, when no one expected anything from her, Zhang defeats Kessler, Navarro, and Minen without dropping a set. Three consecutive wins to reach the round of 16 in one of the most important events of the season. A veteran outside the top 500 showing that one should never give up if the reward is worth it. Listening to her is learning what this is all about.

A Career of Ups and Downs

"Perhaps this is the summary of my life, I like to surprise everyone (laughs). Truly, what I want is to win every week, but there are times when you get injured or grow older, you can't control those things. In the end, the only key to winning is to train hard, work hard, that doesn't change. The other factors are not guaranteed, just work day by day, no one flows on the court without working hard first. In my case, I waited a year and a half to achieve a victory."

Playing at Home

"It is very special to have returned to this Asian tour five years later; it had been a long time without attending a tournament here. I feel that I play very well here, ultimately I grew up in Tianjin, from this area. The court, the weather, the air, here I have everything to feel comfortable, everything comes naturally to me, it's totally different from when I play on clay, grass, or elsewhere. Here I can play my best tennis, I can even win a match, it feels very different."

The Whole Circuit With Her

"The important thing is that I have a lot of support, not only from my friends but also within the locker room. The other day, after my match, everyone was jumping, cheering me on, they were very happy for me. Despite just coming out of the shower, many came running to hug me. I feel a lot of warmth from the other players and coaches. At the US Open, when I lost to Krueger, his coach came and told me: 'You must keep playing singles, you can do it, your level is higher, don't give up'. That gave me a lot of motivation; I felt that I was still good for this."

A Turning Point to Reverse the Streak

"Reaching the doubles final of the US Open was key, to me, we were already champions given the journey we had, so that changed my mindset. At another time in my life, I would have been very sad about not winning that final, about leaving without the title, but now I think differently. In my mind, we were champions, it's like a new chapter, I see that Grand Slam final as a starting point. Since then, I have not stopped receiving messages to cheer me up, which help me stay awake. Now I can say that the great friendship with Mladenovic gave me the positive energy to get out of the lowest point of my career."

An Advice to All: Never Lose Hope

"I want to tell all tennis players never to give up on their dream, even if they can't achieve it, what you can do is change your way of being. You will always feel that it's worth it. In my career, there were many failures, I also keep that part inside me, but at the Paris Olympics, I felt huge pride for representing China three times; that number makes me proud. Just like reaching the final of the US Open, despite living my worst singles streak. When I finally achieved that victory, it didn't surprise me, nor did my friends; we were all convinced it would come. After so much effort throughout your career, all that was needed here was a bit of patience until embracing victory."

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Al otro lado del desierto