China looks forward to the rebirth of Zhang and Shang: "We have known each other since we were children, we are like brothers"

Andrés Tomás Rico | 23 Sep 2025 | 19.56

China hopes for the revival of Zhang and Shang: "We have known each other since we were children, we are like brothers". Photo: Getty Images

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Zhizhen Zhang and Juncheng Shang share such a similar last name that they could pass as brothers, but they are not. Nevertheless, both surnames resonate strongly in Chinese tennis because they have been the only ones to break into the ATP Top 50 rankings and have also suffered different injuries that have kept them out of competition for more than six months. They both return now on this Asian tour, where they will play together in the doubles at the ATP Beijing, the hometown of the two tennis players.

Zhizhen Zhang reached as high as number 31 in the world and was usually in the middle tier of the ATP rankings. In fact, a year ago, he made it to his first final at the ATP Hangzhou, but Marin Cilic dashed his hopes of lifting his first title in his home country. Nonetheless, there was a feeling that his moment was near, but in February, everything turned dark after first injuring his knee, and then once recovered, his shoulder when preparing to compete at Wimbledon.

In total, six months and a drop to number 370 in the world, until his comeback last week in Hangzhou, where he was defending the final. There, he returned with a victory against his compatriot Yunchaokete Bu, but in the following match, he fell to Dalibor Svrcina. "I felt pretty good. I mean, it's the first time I'm back after half a year, and I won the first match, which is already great for me. Even in the second match, I had some physical problems. My legs hurt more. But maybe the shoulder is also a little better. It's much better than we thought. I'm very happy that everything went well," he stated upon his arrival in Beijing.

Still, he prefers not to be overly ambitious and wants to take it one match at a time: "My goal is to be healthy. That is my priority right now because all the matches I'm playing involve a recovery process. To me, it's training. It's not about the wins; that's not the most important thing. But I want to give 100% and focus on my health because we have a very long season ahead. Next year too. It's all part of my plan."

The two injuries suffered in 2025 have made him aware of health issues, although he knows he is not the only player who has dealt with injuries this year, nor the only Chinese player: "It just so happened that many Chinese players have been injured at this time of the year. We have serious injuries and minor injuries. Many people think that these Chinese players are always injured."

One of them is his friend Juncheng Shang, who like Zhang, is one of China's hopes. The 22-year-old also broke into the top 50, reaching position 47 and becoming the first of his generation (2005) to achieve it.

Shang and Zhang, united in success and adversity

His story is very similar to Zhang's: positioned among the top 50 to 60 in the world, a year ago, he claimed the title at the ATP Chengdu, but a foot injury at the beginning of 2025 led him to undergo surgery and kept him sidelined until the start of the North American hard court tour. However, as expected, returning to the pace of competition in a sport that waits for no one has been challenging, and he currently sits at number 138 in the world.

He couldn't defend his title in Chengdu after falling in the second round, but he is optimistic about his participation in Beijing: "Right now I feel very fortunate to be able to play without pain, which is very positive for a player who has been injured for over six months. Overall, I believe I come to Beijing with a fairly positive attitude. Last week, I won my first match after my return. I am very happy about it. Unfortunately, the tournament didn't go as well for me as last year. Once again, I am very happy to be able to play healthy, at 100%. I hope I can perform equally well this week."

Both Zhang and Shang have been feeling the same throughout this past year, and it seems they have come to the conclusion that, to celebrate their return to the circuit, healthy and together, they will play as a pair in the doubles at the ATP Beijing: "We play very well together. In a couple of days, we will post a photo of us training together. We've known each other since we were kids, we're like brothers and have a very good relationship. Playing together in the Chinese season, feeling the warmth of our hometown, our court, training together, going together to different activities. It's really good," states Juncheng Shang, who returns to competition hand in hand with his friend Zhizhen Zhang. Only the two of them know how difficult it has been, and they want to enjoy their comeback on the courts, side by side.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, China espera el renacer de Zhang y Shang: "Nos conocemos desde que éramos niños, somos como hermanos"

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