The spotlight this week on the ATP and WTA tours is firmly on the Rome Masters, where a strong Chinese contingent is battling for valuable points. In matches concluded yesterday, three Chinese female players took the court, but only Zheng Qinwen managed to advance, securing a hard-fought three-set victory over Bondar after being down 0-3 in the deciding set. She now faces 30th seed Bouzkova in the next round.
Unfortunately, Yuan Yue and veteran Zhang Shuai did not share Zheng’s fortune. Yuan Yue missed four match points in the final round of qualifying, ultimately falling 2-6, 6-1, 5-7 to Waltert. Zhang Shuai, after winning the first set, was reversed by Li Jeanie.
The men’s singles first round kicks off today, with Zhang Zhizhen using his protected ranking to enter the main draw. He is scheduled to face Daniel Altmaier at around 5 PM Beijing time. The two have clashed once before, in the 2023 Hamburg quarterfinals, where Zhang emerged victorious. Altmaier currently sits at world No. 64, significantly higher than Zhang’s No. 239.
Born in 1996, Zhang Zhizhen will turn 30 this October and has already achieved remarkable feats for Chinese men’s tennis. He turned professional in 2012, winning the men’s doubles gold at the National Games with Wu Di in 2013, securing his first ATP main draw win in Shenzhen in 2015, and claiming his first Challenger title in Jinan in 2019.
His historical milestones include: becoming the first Chinese mainland man to qualify for the Wimbledon main draw (2021), the first to break into the top 100 (October 2022), the first to win a clay court ATP main draw match (Madrid 2023), the first to reach a Masters quarterfinal (Madrid 2023), and the first to win a Roland Garros main draw match (2023). He rose to a career-high ranking of No. 31 in July 2024 and even surpassed Bublik to become Asia’s No. 1 in 2025. However, injuries derailed his progress, and he ended the 2025 season outside the top 400.
Zhang returned to action at the United Cup in January, earning a singles win for China, but lost in the first round of the Australian Open to Cerundolo. In recent tournaments, he has suffered first-round exits at both the ATP 500 Munich and ATP 1000 Madrid. Now in Rome, still on a protected ranking, he is desperate for points. His path is unforgiving: a win in the first round would set up a meeting with second seed Alexander Zverev. Fans are hopeful that Zhang can rediscover his form and climb back up the rankings.
