Zhang Zhizhen: The best age of 28, a fresh start!

“As long as I regain my health, I’m confident I can come back!”

The 2025 season has been a year of mixed emotions for Chinese male tennis player Zhang Zhizhen. Early in the season, he teamed up with Zhang Shuai and other teammates to help China advance from the group stage to the quarterfinals in the 2025 United Cup.

At the Australian Open, Zhang competed on three fronts: he narrowly lost 2-3 to the star Rune in the men’s singles first round, advanced to the third round in men’s doubles alongside Mahachi, but exited in the first round of mixed doubles with partner Siniakova.

Also in February, in the latest world rankings released on February 24, Zhang Zhizhen surpassed former Asian No.1 Bublik for the first time, ranking 49th and becoming Asia’s top-ranked player for the first time ever since the ATP ranking system was established—marking a historic milestone for a player from mainland China.

However, following these breakthroughs in world rankings, injury problems soon became a major obstacle for Zhang. After missing a match point in the first round at the Indian Wells Masters, he withdrew from major tournaments like Miami due to injury.

It turned out that since the event in Marseille this year, Zhang’s right shoulder has been uncomfortable, likely related to changes in his serving technique. This shoulder issue has significantly affected both his serve and forehand.

Subsequently, Zhang withdrew from a series of tournaments including Rome, the French Open, and Wimbledon. It wasn’t until last month, at the ATP250 event in Hangzhou held in China, that Zhang, whose ranking had dropped close to 200th, attempted a comeback.

His first opponent in Hangzhou was fellow Chinese player Bu Yunchaokete. The match lasted nearly three hours, with Zhang eventually overturning the score to win 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 and advance, but he soon lost in the second round to Sforcina.

Afterwards, Zhang participated in the ATP500 Beijing and ATP1000 Shanghai tournaments, losing to Altmaier and Baez respectively, suffering a three-match losing streak since his return. Currently, Zhang’s world ranking stands at 396.

Today is also Zhang Zhizhen’s 28th birthday. This age is not young for a professional player and often marks the latter half of a career. However, as Zhang himself said, as long as he maintains good health, no matter how low his ranking falls, he is confident he can return to the ATP Tour and establish himself again.

Zhang has now concluded his season in China and is continuing rehabilitation training with his coaching team. Starting next season from such a low ranking will be challenging, but we look forward to his full recovery soon! Happy birthday to him!(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Barbie)