Only one win in the four Grand Slams, Zhang Zhizhen’s friend is really struggling this year!

The 2025 US Open singles main draw has started in full swing, and after the first day, all four Chinese female players who played were defeated, missing the chance to compete in the second round. Wang Xiyu, who advanced from the qualifiers, was beaten 4-6, 3-6 by Ostapenko; Wang Yafan lost her advantage at 5-3 in the first set and failed to convert three set points, also falling in straight sets to the 10th seed Navarro.

Veteran Zhang Shuai also struggled through the qualifiers and faced fellow veteran Bencic in the first round of women’s singles, losing both sets 3-6 and missing out on the next round. Additionally, Zhu Lin battled Russian Potapova in a three-set match but unfortunately lost 4-6, 6-4, 2-6.

Of course, besides focusing on the performance of the Chinese female players at this year’s US Open, the showing of former men’s world number one Medvedev has also been surprising. As the 13th seed in the men’s singles, he was upset in the first round by the world number 51 French player Bonzi with a 3-2 match score (set scores: 3-6, 5-7, 7-6, 6-0, 4-6).

Turning professional in 2014 and winning the US Open in 2021 as the first Grand Slam champion born after 1995, Medvedev’s career has been outstanding so far. After finishing runner-up again at the 2022 Australian Open, he officially became world number one at the end of February, successfully breaking the dominance of the Big Four at that time.

In addition, during his junior years, Medvedev studied at the same tennis academy as Chinese player Zhang Zhizhen, where the two became good friends, making Medvedev more familiar to many domestic fans.

However, entering the 2025 season, this former men’s world number one has fallen into another career slump. Looking at the four Grand Slam tournaments he participated in this season, after exiting in the second round of the Australian Open, Medvedev was eliminated in the first round of the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open, achieving only one win in all the Grand Slam events this year.

As a player known for strong hard-court performance, Medvedev was stopped in the third round of the Toronto Masters and exited in the first round of the Cincinnati Masters this season. Coupled with losing the points from last year’s US Open quarterfinals, the Russian star’s world ranking is expected to drop significantly.

Reviewing Medvedev’s performances in each match, we often see him displaying strong emotional fluctuations on court. In the recent US Open first round, he protested vehemently to the chair umpire over a minor incident during his opponent’s match point in the third set, even inciting the crowd (who booed continuously for six minutes, causing the match to be temporarily halted).

After the first-round loss, Medvedev again smashed his racket violently, causing another uproar among the spectators. Clearly, the Russian player needs to make timely adjustments. Do you think he can return to the peak of his career?(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Barbie)