Competition function
History maker Zhang prepares to reignite in Shanghai
Zhang is just a Chinese player, winning the last 16 ATP Masters 1000 events at home
September 30, 2025
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Zhang Zhizhen will join the Shanghai field by Shang Juncheng, Wu Yibing, Buyunchaokete and Zhou Yi from the countryside.
Sam Jacot
Back in court and growing faith, Zhang Zhizhen returned to his hometown in two weeks, eager to reignite his magic of becoming the creator of history two years ago.
Zhang was eliminated for six months on shoulder issues this year, but now fits again and is ready to return to a venue full of personal and national significance.
Zhang’s rise reached a new height in 2023, a breakthrough year for a year, with Shanghai natives rewriting Chinese tennis records. He became the first Chinese to reach the quarter-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid, and later soared to the 52nd place in the PIF ATP ranking at the time.
He continued on the Grand Slam stage at the U.S. Open, where he shocked Casper Ruud to become the first to overturn the top five opponents from China.
The dream summer brought him to Shanghai, where the hometown heroes poured into the fourth round with local support, a first country on this level. He overcame Richard Gasquet, Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Brandon Nakashima before falling into the eventual champion Hubert Hurkacz.
“If people watch us do something and then try to follow us, that’s good news for us,” Zhang told Atptour.com earlier this season. “Most Chinese people are watching table tennis or badminton at the Olympics, not tennis. But suddenly they watch live on TV.
“Right now, more and more people are getting to know us, more and more people are trying to learn, trying to learn. It’s really good.”
Watch Zhang defeat Nakashima in 2023 to create Shanghai history:
Zhang’s efforts laid a strong foundation for the next generation. In 2024, Zhang broke into the top 50 and climbed to No. 31, which is the new high for Chinese men’s tennis. He also made it to Hangzhou’s Virgin Season Tour finals and advanced to Rome’s other quarter-final Masters.
Zhang, 28, is defeating Countryman Buyunchaokete with a strong victory after returning to tour in Hangzhou earlier this month, in 2025. And there is no better place to recover than in Shanghai.
He won’t be alone in the tough game. Zhang leads a strong Chinese in the penultimate event of the season, and he will join the countryside with Shang Juncheng, Wu Yibing and Zhou Yi.
#NextGenatp Shanghai is also rebuilding after six months of layoffs due to foot injury. The 20-year-old left-hander won his first ATP title in Chengdu last season, reaching the career-high No. 47.
At the same time, Wu continued his own revival. The 25-year-old became China’s first ATP Tour champion in the history of the 2023 Dallas Open, reaching the semi-finals in Hangzhou earlier this month and winning his sixth ATP Challenger title in June. In 2024, he enjoyed the third round of competition on the local soil of Shanghai.
“It means everything, especially at home,” Wu said after running. “It’s been a long year. I have to have a lot of physical struggles. Winning three games in a row really means a lot.”
Defending champions Jannik Sinner, world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and Serbian Novak Djokovic lead a piled field in Shanghai, with the match being held from October 1 to 12.
