Wait, wait. Christmas 2023 came to an end yesterday. This means that 2023 is just a few days away. This year is a year of special significance for all living beings in life. In this year, many people bid farewell to nucleic acid testing, farewell to masks, and entered a new life and work. Here, on behalf of the editor-in-chief of "Tennis Home" and all colleagues, please allow me to wish you all a fruitful last week of 2023 and a good start to the new year. In the year of coming out of the epidemic, WTA professional tennis has finally ushered in a full season. Yesterday, the WTA announced the 2003 year-end world rankings, and the good news is that seven Chinese Jinhua entered the TOP100. This is the largest number of Chinese Golden Flowers occupying the TOP100 in the past four years. So, which seven girls are in the top 100?How will they perform in 2023?Today, let the humble article take you to take a look.
In the TOP100, the highest ranking is Zheng Qinwen. Although she has been firmly in the position of the first sister of Jinhua throughout the 2023 season, for a long time in 2023, her tennis road has not been smooth, with the Australian Open and French Open exiting early, and Wimbledon even stopping in the first round. Therefore, many people are full of suspicion about Zheng Qinwen. In this situation, Zheng Qinwen, who endured cynicism, began to burst out in July, not only winning two consecutive tour titles, but also reaching the quarterfinals of his first career Grand Slam at the US Open. What's even more surprising is that some time ago, Zheng Qinwen reached the final in the Zhuhai Super Elite Competition, tying the best record held by Wang Qiang. Compared to 2022, although the world ranking has "only" risen by 13 places, it can be described as a ragged road. However, the author has reason to believe that after experiencing this series of hardships and twists and turns, Zheng Qinwen may create a better record in 2024. Everything, let's wait and see.
2023 is a year worth remembering for "Chinese Sava" Wang Xinyu. In the year, she improved significantly in all four Grand Slams, reaching at least the second round. And, even more surprisingly, she also reached the round of 16 of her first career Grand Slam in Flushing, New York. Not only that, at Roland Garros, Wang Xinyu also partnered with Xie Shuwei to win the first Grand Slam women's doubles title in her career. However, it is a pity that Wang Xinyu has not yet won the WTA championship. In 2024, maybe she will be able to make a breakthrough in this area, so let's wait for the old man to give us the answer.
Although she was overtaken by Wang Xinyu in the 2023 year-end rankings, for Zhu Lin, she still achieved good results this year. He won his first Grand Slam win at the Australian Open and then went on to reach the round of 16 of his first Grand Slam. What's even more rare is that Zhu Lin has maintained a good state for a long time. He reached the final of a tour for the first time in his career and won a tour championship for the first time in his career. Despite a dip in form since then, she has reached the semi-finals of at least four tournaments in the 2023 season. This is Zhu Lin's best year since she entered the professional tennis world, whether it is a tour or a Grand Slam tournament. Now, she has just become a bride, and surrounded by happiness, it is very likely that she will make more breakthroughs in the 2024 season.
Compared with Zheng Qinwen and Wang Xinyu, Wang Xiyu, who has won the Grand Slam junior women's singles championship, has a somewhat bleak 2023 season. It wasn't until the US Open that she won her first Grand Slam match of the 2023 season. Despite reaching the round of 16 at the WTA1000 and even winning her first career tour title, more often than not, Wang struggled to perform on the field. Today, she still has no stable coach, and she does not have a more systematic style of play. What the future road will be, maybe even Wang Xiyu himself has no answer in his heart.
For a long time in 2023, Yuan Yue's form has not been satisfactory, and during this time, she has not even been able to win a championship in the ITF arena. This form has also continued to the Grand Slam arena, and in 2023, Yuan Yue was not able to win a Grand Slam tournament, which is objectively a pity. Fortunately, since September, Yuan Yue's form has picked up, and in just over a month, she has reached the ITF finals three times and won the first 100K championship in her career. This is also the highest-level championship won by Yuan Yue since entering the professional tennis world. What's even more gratifying is that some time ago, she also reached the first tour final of her career. Now, Yuan Yue's ranking has returned to the top80, which is close to her best ranking. In 2024, I believe that Yuan Yue should be able to make a breakthrough in the Grand Slam arena.
The post-00s golden flower that will bring us the biggest surprise in 2023 may be Bai Zhuoxuan. Previously, she had been in the ITF arena and had not even been able to enter the top 300 in the world rankings. In the first half of the year, due to his repeated championships in the ITF arena, Bai Zhuoxuan's world ranking continued to improve and he was able to enter the Grand Slam qualifying list. She lived up to that opportunity, winning four straight matches from Wimbledon qualifying to claim her first career Grand Slam victory. Since then, Bai Zhuoxuan has not stopped her steps, and some time ago, she won two 100k championships. Today, Bai Zhuoxuan's world ranking has entered the TOP90. It's just that next year, which has been studied by many opponents, will she be able to continue her magical journey?For this question, let time give us the answer.
In 2023, many people are not optimistic about Wang Yafan's comeback. At that time, her ranking had fallen outside the top 400. However, in just over four months, Wang Yafan has won five TIF tennis titles, and she has inspired herself with one victory after another. Since then, Wang Yafan has ushered in eleven consecutive wins. It is worth mentioning that in these consecutive victories, she ushered in the victory of the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time in three years. Although at the end of the year, due to various reasons, Wang Yafan's state has declined, but she still holds the TOP100 position.
Tennis is a society and a society, but it is also a journey to climb the mountain. In this journey of climbing the mountain, some people have already climbed to the peak, while more people are struggling to climb and break through halfway up the mountain. Others are working hard at the starting point with their hands and feet. Not far from the beginning of the journey, the author quietly told the story of these people's struggles in words. Being able to make readers laugh is perhaps my greatest gratification. That's all for today's story, and if there's anything, we'll talk about it tomorrow. (*Tennis Home Author: Yixin Jushi).