Despite a three-year absence of top-tier tournaments, appetite for the game remains strong with China’s men on the rise
Photograph: Kelly Defina/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Kelly Defina/Getty Imagesn a searing Wednesday at Kooyong, groundbreaking Chinese player Zhang Zhizhen had dual-Wimbledon champion Andy Murray sweating despite the charming surroundings. In the time it took for one train on the Glen Waverley line to depart the adjoining station and the next to arrive, Zhang had swept the first five games of the exhibition match.finalist, Murray is a popular figure in Melbourne.
Davis Cup great Paul McNamee cited factors including a lack of a national structure and a disparity in coaching skills, though the women have thrived. The presence of Zhang in grand slam tournaments and the strong results of Wu Yibing at a lower level last year suggest men’s tennis in China might finally be reaching the station too.
The absence of tennis from China is now beyond three years, largely due to the pandemic but also because of the strong stance the WTA Tour took regarding the safety of former player Peng Shuai.
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