BEIJING, OCT 1: Zhang Shuai admitted Tuesday she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row -- now the world number 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open.
The 35-year-old wildcard will face Spain's Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament.
Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour in the Open Era, which began in 1968.
In a dramatic change of fortune, the former top-25 player who has been plagued by injury, has now won four matches in seven days without dropping a set.
Speaking after a dominant 6-4, 6-2 victory over Magdalena Frech in the last 16, Zhang laid bare the pain she endured as she suffered loss after loss.
"Coming to Beijing I had a lot of pressure and was nervous because I had lost 24 matches," said Zhang, who has reached two Grand Slam singles quarter-finals, in 2016 at Australia and Wimbledon in 2019.
"I had no idea how to win and I didn't want to lose another, especially with all the Chinese fans.
"Walking back to the locker room, I didn't know if I should continue or not before this tournament."
Zhang was encouraged to carry on playing singles because she was still winning matches in doubles, in which she is a two-time major champion.
She reached the women's doubles final at the US Open last month with France's Kristina Mladenovic.
Zhang felt she had a chance to snap her losing streak in Beijing because she feels completely at home on the hard courts there, where she has played many times down the years. —AFP
