Wang Xinyu (Chinese: 王欣瑜; pinyin: Wáng Xīnyú, pronounced[wǎŋɕíny̌]ⓘ;[1] born 26 September 2001) is a Chinese professional tennis player. Wang reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 32 on 9 October 2023, and a doubles ranking of No. 16 on 20 May 2024. Partnering with Hsieh Su-wei, she won the women's doubles title at the 2023 French Open.[2] She also won a silver medal in mixed doubles, alongside Zhang Zhizhen at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Personal life
Wang was born in Shenzhen, Guangdong.[3][4][5] Her father, Wang Peng (born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang),[6] is a former head coach of the Shenzhen tennis team and the Chinese women's national tennis team, but resigned from the latter to concentrate on his daughter's tennis career.[7][8] Her mother was a former player in the Zhejiang women's basketball team.[6] Both of them have devoted themselves to accompanying Wang everywhere. Wang showed great enthusiasm for tennis from early childhood and, coached by her father, she started playing properly at the age of five.[9]
Career
Wang at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics
2018: Major debut and junior champion
Wang booked her ticket to her major debut at the 2018 Australian Open on 3 December 2017 in Zhuhai by winning the Asia-Pacific Wildcard Playoffs, coming back to edge out the Papua New Guinean No. 1, Abigail Tere-Apisah, in the final. Tere-Apisah was only two points away from victory when leading 5–3, 30–0 in the second set, looking to become the first player from Papua New Guinea to compete in a major main draw, when momentum shifted and Wang, demonstrating fearlessness for her age, won the next seven points, before going on to level the match. Wang eventually won the match in three sets, seizing the most crucial break with a splendid backhand passing shot in the ninth game, and then closed out the final set after saving four break points.[10] "It's probably the most important day in my life so far," Wang said in the post-match news conference to CCTV Sports Channel, the official TV broadcaster of the Australian Open in China.[11] At the age of 16, she was the youngest Chinese player to make a Grand Slam championship main draw.[12][7][11]
At the 2018 Australian Open, as the second youngest competitor in the main draw (just older than 15-year-old Marta Kostyuk), Wang lost her debut match at a major to Alizé Cornet, in straight sets.[13] But going through to the girls' doubles final with her partner Liang En-shuo from Taiwan, Wang claimed the title in a close match against Violet Apisah of Papua New Guinea (Abigail Tere-Apisah's niece) and Lulu Sun, a New Zealand-born Swiss player of Chinese descent.[14][15][16][17]
2019: WTA Premier debut, first WTA Tour doubles title
She made her Premier Mandatory debut at the 2019 Miami Open as a wildcard.
She made her debut in the top 100, after reaching the quarterfinal of the Ladies Linz at world No. 99 in the year-end rankings, on 15 November 2021. However, she lost to the eventual champion, Alison Riske.
2022: First major win and top 75 in singles, top 100 in doubles
She made her top 100 debut in doubles, on 25 April 2022, and top 75 in singles, on 16 May 2022, after winning her biggest title on the ITF World Tennis Tour at the 100k La Bisbal d'Emporda in Spain.[21]
2023: Major title in doubles, singles fourth round and top 35
At the US Open, she reached the fourth round in singles for the first time at a major.[22]
At the China Open, she reached the third round at the WTA 1000 level for the second time by defeating 11th seed Daria Kasatkina.[23] As a result, she reached the top 35 in the WTA rankings on 9 October 2023.
2024: WTA 1000 singles & doubles semifinals, Olympic silver medal in mixed doubles
Using protected ranking on her debut, she reached in doubles, the second round at the Miami Open and the quarterfinals at the Madrid Open with Zheng Saisai.[citation needed] Also on her debut, she reached the semifinals for the first time at the next WTA 1000, the Italian Open, again with Zheng, upsetting top-seeded pair Hsieh/Mertens to face third seeds Gauff and Routliffe for a spot in the final.[24] Wang and Zheng won the doubles at the Berlin Open.[25]
At the 2024 Wuhan Open, she reached her first singles semifinal at the WTA 1000-level defeating second seed and world No. 3, Jessica Pegula, in the round of 16, her second top five win in three months,[29] and Ekaterina Alexandrova in the quarterfinals.[30] The semifinal between her and compatriot Zheng Qinwen was the first All-Chinese showdown at this level and guaranteed a first-time finalist from China at the tournament.[31]
Coaching team
Wang's current team consists of her father, Wang Peng; a Serbian technical coach, Aleksandar Slović, who won the men's singles title at the 2009 Summer Universiade and once trained with Novak Djokovic when he was younger; a fitness coach, Miro Hrvatin from Croatia; and a Chinese physio from Nanjing.[12] With the help of Slović, Wang was able to train with a few Serbian players abroad.[9] She currently trains at the Tennis & Badminton Centre of the Shenzhen Sports Centre.[3][4]
Performance timelines
Key
W
F
SF
QF
#R
RR
Q#
P#
DNQ
A
Z#
PO
G
S
B
NMS
NTI
P
NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.
Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Fed Cup/Billie Jean King Cup and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records.[32]
^Edition is split into the two years due to COVID-19.
^ abcdThe first Premier 5 event of the year has switched back and forth between the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Qatar Ladies Open since 2009. Dubai was classified as a Premier 5 event from 2009 to 2011 before being succeeded by Doha for the 2012–2014 period. In 2015, Dubai regained its Premier 5 status while Doha was demoted to Premier status. The Premier 5 tournaments were reclassified as WTA 1000 tournaments in 2021.
^ abGao Zhiming; Peng Zhigang (14 December 2017). "Shǒuwàng shíguāng Jìngdài huākāi" 守望时光 静待花开！ [Await the blooming calmly with time going by]. Daily Sunshine (in Chinese). Retrieved 28 January 2018.
^ abZhu Peng (4 December 2017). "Zhōngguó xiǎo huā pīn de zhèngsài zīgé" 中国小花拼得正赛资格 [Chinese little flower struggled and got qualification for main draw]. Beijing Youth Daily (in Chinese). Retrieved 4 December 2017.
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