Paris Paralympics 2024: China make history with 4 quarter-finalists in wheelchair tennis
Led by breakthrough star Zhu Zhenzhen, country has 4 players in the final 8 for the first time at the Paralympics
Four Chinese wheelchair tennis players have advanced to the quarter-finals of the Paris Paralympics – a historic first for the country.
All four players won their second-round matches in straight sets, comfortably advancing to the final eight in the French capital.
In fact, the quartet were all part of the squad that topped the Netherlands to lift the BNP Paribas World Team trophy in May.
Zhu Zhenzhen led the charge on Monday with a 6-0, 6-4 rout of Chile’s Macarena Cabrillana, and said she “handled the rhythm of that match quite well” as she confidently eyed a familiar Japanese rival in the next round.
“I’m going to play Kamiji Yui, and I’ve never beaten her in the times we’ve met before,” Zhu said. “But I’ll still give it a good go. There’s always some hope if you don’t give up and show some fighting spirit out there.”
Mirroring her compatriot’s dominance, Wang Ziying breezed through her match against Maylee Phelps, swinging the American aside 6-0, 6-3 to book a berth against Colombia’s Angelica Bernal.
