A hat-trick of wins kicks off 2026, with veteran Zhang Shuai reaching a new career-high ranking!

Zhang Shuai secured another victory!

On the morning of January 5, 2026, Beijing time, during the first round of the WTA500 Brisbane singles competition, Chinese star Zhang Shuai overcame the offensively strong Kruger with a total score of 6-4, 5-6, 6-4, advancing to the second round and earning 57 points along with $13,735 in prize money.

This marks Zhang Shuai’s third match win in the 2026 season. Earlier, during the Brisbane qualifiers, she consecutively defeated players Ferro and Preston. Notably, all three victories were hard-fought three-set battles. As one of the players who ended the 2025 season the latest and started 2026 the earliest, nearly turning 37, Zhang Shuai’s experience, competitive form, and mental toughness deserve great praise from fans.

Following her three consecutive wins this new season, Zhang Shuai’s live ranking has risen from No. 89 to No. 73. According to the draw, Zhang will face defending champion Rybakina in the next round, with hopes that the veteran can maintain her strong form and performance in round two.

It’s worth mentioning that Zhang Shuai is competing in both singles and doubles in Brisbane this year. In doubles, she teamed up with Russian player Samsonova but lost in the first round to the ad hoc pair Sabalenka and Badosa. Both sets went to tiebreaks, but Zhang’s team ultimately fell short.

Of course, Zhang Shuai wasn’t the only Chinese player to win today. Wang Xinyu, competing at the WTA250 Auckland event, also claimed victory. As a seeded player in singles, she lost the first set 2-6 to American McNally but bounced back to win the next two sets 6-3, 7-5, ending her losing streak from the end of last season.

It’s important to note that Wang Xinyu hadn’t won any tour-level matches since the US Open last season. According to the draw, her next opponent will be decided between Stephens and Zarazua. If Wang can maintain the level she showed in the last two sets of the first round, she has a good chance to advance deeper in Auckland.

Yuan Yue, who chose to compete in a slightly lower-tier event, also won her match. This week she played at the Canberra WTA125K tournament, defeating the 8th seed Vanderwinkel in the first round. After gaining 15 valuable ranking points and $3,895 in prize money, her live ranking is now No. 133.

In this week’s latest WTA world rankings, there are seven players from mainland China in the top 200. They are:

No. 24 Zheng Qinwen

No. 57 Wang Xinyu

No. 79 Zhang Shuai

No. 135 Yuan Yue

No. 162 Zhu Lin

No. 170 Wang Xiyu

No. 171 Guo Hanyu

We look forward to more Chinese players breaking into the top 200 and hope all ranked Chinese players continue to improve their personal best rankings in the new season!(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Barbie)