Five consecutive wins to the top, Chen Mengyi triumphs powerfully, reaching new heights in her professional career.

The year 2022 was extraordinarily significant for both Chinese women's and men's tennis. That year, three post-2000 players—Zheng Qinwen, Wang Xiyu, and Wang Xinyu—each secured their first main draw Grand Slam victories at the Australian Open. Their success marked the official beginning of a new era dominated by the post-2000 generation in Chinese women's tennis.

Also in that year, starting from March when Shang Juncheng broke through the qualifiers at the Indian Wells Masters, Chinese men's tennis achieved a series of breakthroughs in Grand Slams, Challenger, and Futures tournaments. From that point on, Chinese men's tennis seemed reborn, continuously reaching new milestones.

Because of the milestones reached in that year, starting in 2023, Futures, Challenger, and Tour events began to cluster in China, forming what is now known as the China season. The emergence of the China season has provided more and more Chinese players with opportunities to compete on the tennis circuit.

These opportunities have helped many Chinese players grow robustly. For example, recently, Zhu Chenting won his first-ever Futures title at the Ma'anshan Futures, becoming the first Chinese player born after 2007 to claim a Futures championship. Last week, another Chinese player made a new breakthrough in their career. So, who is this player? And what new milestone have they reached? Today, this article will take you to find out.

This player is Chen Mengyi. As early as 2022, she earned her first Futures victory in her career. Since then, Chen Mengyi has made steady progress each year. In 2023, she reached her first Futures quarterfinal; in 2024, she advanced to her first Futures semifinal. This season, her breakthroughs continue. At the Ma'anshan Futures in late July, she secured four consecutive wins, reaching her first-ever Futures final.

Last week, Chen Mengyi appeared at the Liu'an Futures as a wildcard entrant. In the first round, she decisively defeated Wu Manying from Hong Kong's qualifiers to advance smoothly; in the second round, facing compatriot Sun Yingqun, Chen took the first set 7-5. In the second set, with a commanding lead, Sun retired due to physical reasons, allowing Chen to reach the quarterfinals.

In the quarterfinals, Chen Mengyi faced fellow Chinese player Hou Yanan. In the first set, she allowed her opponent only two games; in the second set, while leading, Hou Yanan retired from the match. Thus, Chen benefited from two consecutive opponent retirements, which was the only such occurrence for her in the 2025 season, propelling her into the semifinals.

In the semifinals, Chen's opponent was the tournament's fourth seed, Japanese player Nishimura Kayo. In the first set, both players were cautious and held their service games smoothly, resulting in a tight score that led to a tiebreak. Chen performed better in the tiebreak, winning it and gaining the advantage to advance. Then unexpectedly, Nishimura suddenly withdrew from the match. After playing only one set, Chen again advanced to her second career Futures final due to an opponent's retirement. Will she be able to go further this time?

In the final, Chen Mengyi faced Ren Yufei, who recently won the Wuning Futures title and is quite formidable. In this match, Chen took the first set. However, Ren responded by winning the second set, pushing the contest into a decisive final set.

The final set was fiercely contested. At a critical moment, Chen broke her opponent’s serve and seized the opportunity without hesitation, clinching the match victory.

With this victory, Chen Mengyi claimed her first-ever Futures championship. In the 2025 season, she has already achieved two major career breakthroughs. Moving forward, we hope Chen can create even more outstanding results. Let us all wish her the best! That concludes today's tennis story; more to come tomorrow.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Yixin Jushi)