Zhang, who recently reached the doubles final at the US Open, knows a thing or two about persistence. She lost the first 14 Grand Slam main draw matches she played, but eventually broke through at the Australian Open in 2016, upsetting World No. 2 Simona Halep for her first Grand Slam win, and then reached the quarterfinals .
She says that failure has been part of her journey, but more importantly, learning to accept her shortcomings and persistently pursuing her passion on the field have become her trademark.
“Every person has their own dream and dreams can be very different,” she said. “You can fight for it, fight for your dreams. I have my dreams too. I am fighting for it. I’m working on it.”
Zhang is also a two-time Grand Slam champion, proof positive that there is more than one way to make a successful tennis career.
“That’s why you see that I won a championship in a Grand Slam,” she said. “I trained in singles. I haven’t done doubles or mixed doubles. But then I felt that I wanted to become a Grand Slam champion. If I had a bigger gap in singles, then I make the transition to doubles and mixed doubles. This was a way for me to win a championship in a Grand Slam. This is a way for me to achieve my dream in a different way.”
Pursuing her Olympic dream and representing her country has also given Zhang satisfaction throughout her career.
“In my career, there have been so many failures,” she said. “I still have this sense of accomplishment. At the Paris Olympics, I was really proud to be able to represent China three times. The number alone makes me proud.”
The former World No. 22 says that while her losing streak has hurt her this season, she has found other ways to gain confidence. Just last month she played the US Open final Kristina Mladenovic (the pair lost to Ostapenko and Kichenok in the final).
“My friends, my colleagues, were not surprised. They congratulated me. Even though they were not in Beijing, they sent a video, tried to call me by video. When I was having a losing streak, they told me, eventually your victory will come. We have complete faith in you. With so much effort in your career, you’ll just need a little more patience for your victory.”
