Looking to make a powerful return

The cruel nature of competitive sports put China's tennis boom on pause in a year of misfortune that left the country's injury plagued aces licking their wounds in the offseason, raring to bounce back in 2026.

Right after a milestone season in 2024, marked by historic successes at the Olympics and on the professional stage, Chinese tennis has signed off 2025 with injury woes slowing down the progress of its top players, leaving them ruing a barren season without any singles titles won on either the men's, or the women's, pro circuits.

It's the first time since 2021 that no Chinese player won a tour-level tournament, whereas, in 2024, the Chinese contingent had collectively claimed four singles titles to go with Zheng Qinwen's historic women's Olympic gold in Paris.

Altogether, in 2025, Chinese players won just 10 singles main draw matches across the four Grand Slams, far fewer than the combined total of 37 wins across the majors in 2024, and even shy of Zheng's individual tally of 12.

None of the Chinese men had managed to finish the season within the top 100 on the ATP rankings, while only three Chinese women, Zheng, Wang Xinyu (No 57) and veteran Zhang Shuai (No 81), stayed within the WTA's top 100.

At the end of 2024, three Chinese men and five women were ranked top-100 in the world.

Injuries, unfortunately an integral part of the business, took a heavy toll on almost everyone in 2025 — from Zheng's right elbow pain and men's ace Zhang Zhizhen's worn-out right shoulder, to rising star Shang Juncheng's foot bone fracture — forcing them to go under the knife, stop for long rehabs and take nosedives in the rankings.

And those who rushed their comeback had, apparently, learned their lessons.