On a searing Wednesday at Kooyong, groundbreaking Chinese player Zhang Zhizhen had dual-Wimbledon champion Andy Murray sweating despite the charming surroundings. In the time it took for one train on the Glen Waverley line to depart the adjoining station and the next to arrive, Zhang had swept the first five games of the exhibition match.
A five-time Australian Open finalist, Murray is a popular figure in Melbourne. But as the first Chinese man to play Wimbledon, Zhang also had his share of fans prepared to bake in the sunshine at the traditional home of Australian tennis to watch their hero.
Murray ultimately eked out a 2-6, 6-3, 10-2 win but the rangy Zhang demonstrated why he has become a trailblazer for his nation with strong serving and a good all-court game. The only Chinese man to reach the top 100, he signed as many hats and autographs afterwards for young fans as the Scottish member of the men’s Big Four did.
It is now nine years since Li Na claimed the Australian Open and her success inspired several outstanding talents including Qinwen Zheng, a winner over Simona Halep last year. But no Chinese man has won a match at a major in the Open era, let alone a grand slam. Theories abound as to why.
Davis Cup great Paul McNamee cited factors including a lack of a national structure and a disparity in coaching skills, though the women have thrived. The presence of Zhang in grand slam tournaments and the strong results of Wu Yibing at a lower level last year suggest men’s tennis in China might finally be reaching the station too.
Their emergence as regular tour players comes at a fascinating time for tennis with authorities at the crossroads when it comes to the future of the sport in China. When does tennis return to the nation it invested so heavily in during the 15 years prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, a country that offered the richest purse ever in the WTA Finals in 2019?
The absence of tennis from China is now beyond three years, largely due to the pandemic but also because of the strong stance the WTA Tour took regarding the safety of former player Peng Shuai.
Kooyong Classic tournament director Peter Johnston, who has significant experience as a tennis administrator in the Asia-Pacific, said men’s tennis could resume this year. Johnston serves as the tournament director for an ATP Tour event in Zhuhai which has traditionally started the China swing and he confirmed planning is underway for 2023.
“For Zhuhai, we are in the midst of planning and getting ready to go. And I think that is the case for the other men’s events,” he told Guardian Australia.
The appetite for tennis in China remains strong which is why Zhang and Wu, who played against Rinky Hijikata later on Wednesday, were targeted to play at Kooyong. Chinese media was on site to talk to both players, the matches were broadcast back into the nation and a key sponsor of the boutique tournament has business interests in the region.
It will be the same case for the Australian Open, which bills itself as the Grand Slam of the Asia-Pacific and has a significant sponsorship deal with Chinese distillery Luzhou Laojiao.
“The investment in tennis had been massive prior to the pandemic, so there are events with arrangements and an appetite to be playing,” Johnston said. “With the relaxing of protocols in an ever-changing environment, it is time to be looking at China re-emerging as part of the tennis landscape.
“With the position the WTA has with Peng, there are still things that clearly need to be worked through. But there was so much tennis in China prior to Covid that was part of the calendar and with the world changing again, the potential is clearly there for it to resume.”
Ash Barty, who won the WTA Finals in Shenzhen in 2019, was among Australians who struggled with homesickness due to strict Covid quarantine regulations at home. It has been even harder for Chinese players including Zhang, who will make his Australian Open debut next week. He dearly hopes the tours will return to the country in the near future.
“It was tough for all Chinese players … because we had so many tournaments,” he said. “In 2020, the whole world stopped. But in 2021 and 2022, we still didn’t have any tournaments, so we had to come out of Asia and to Europe and America to play.
“We had quarantine. So it pushed us to stay out the whole year because it was impossible to go home for two weeks. I would love to see China and Asia have more Challengers back, so that we can all play, but also those big ATP events, the Shanghai Masters. All Chinese are wishing that in 2023.”
