The World Tennis Intercontinental Challenge is now just three days away, with Wang Xinyu’s match against Swiatek becoming the focus of public anticipation.

From the initial announcement to the countdown now underway, this World Tennis Intercontinental Challenge starting on December 26, 2025, has already ignited fans and netizens’ enthusiasm for the new season.

Many might see Shenzhen’s first time hosting such an exhibition event as an imitation of the Laver Cup, but insiders frankly say this is not merely an exhibition match; “it is an innovative international tennis competition combining professional competition, entertainment, and public engagement.”

The term “Challenge” itself implies a distinction from other exhibition matches; otherwise, the word would be meaningless. Considering the men’s singles, women’s singles, and mixed doubles contested between the World team and the Europe team, it seems, as insiders say, the competition’s intensity far exceeds that of traditional exhibitions.

When the organizers first announced the event, public attention was low, but interest surged after the player lineup was revealed.

Names like Swiatek, Sabalenka, Rublev, Khromacheva, Vachier-Lagrave, and Bencic alone excite fans and netizens, and with local Chinese players Wang Xinyu and Zhang Zhizhen participating, many say the organizers’ big move to boost enthusiasm for this inaugural World Tennis Intercontinental Challenge was unexpectedly powerful, “directly hitting our hearts and leaving a lasting impression, making it impossible not to pay attention.”

With only three days left until the World Tennis Intercontinental Challenge officially begins, fans and netizens are overflowing with excitement. While discussing this grand feast before the new season, the spotlight is on Swiatek and Wang Xinyu, hoping these two representatives of Europe and the World teams can deliver a fierce showdown at Shenzhen Universiade Sports Center and eager to see what happens after the match!

Why is there such strong anticipation for Wang Xinyu’s battle against Swiatek? Because many hope she can win once to avenge her defeat at the French Open two years ago.

The 2023 French Open third-round match against Swiatek is still widely regarded as Wang Xinyu’s most crushing loss in her career so far.

Facing the then-rising Polish star, everyone knew before the match that an upset was impossible and expected a sweep, but no one anticipated that from the very first game of the first set, Wang Xinyu would be completely out of the picture. In the end, she failed to win a single game and was humiliated with a double bagel by Swiatek, becoming the central figure of a shocking Paris disaster.

Two years later, whether Wang Xinyu has forgotten this or how much it still lingers in her memory is unknown, but some fans and netizens continue to dwell on it, as if they were the ones who lost face, not Wang Xinyu herself.

Therefore, seeing both Swiatek and Wang Xinyu in the lineup for this World Tennis Intercontinental Challenge, some netizens jokingly say Wang Xinyu has finally got the perfect chance for revenge. Playing at home in Shenzhen with this advantage, if she fights with full effort, “there’s a great chance she could beat Swiatek and boost her confidence for the new season, even though this is an exhibition rather than a real tour event.”

Currently, some believe Wang Xinyu has a reasonable chance against Swiatek, not just because she’s playing on home soil in Shenzhen, but also because Swiatek’s form now is not comparable to her 2023 season. Plus, since this is an exhibition, the Polish player may not give her all, so this could be Wang’s opportunity!

Regarding the strong hopes some have for Wang Xinyu to avenge Swiatek in this event and the imaginative reasons given, others say even if Wang loses, it’s not something to celebrate; winning against the Polish player in other tour events during the new season would be the real surprise, “but still, we hope she wins, after all, she’s our own player.”

The World Tennis Intercontinental Challenge runs from the 26th to the 28th of this month, lasting three days in total, with ten matches scheduled that all promise to be highly anticipated.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Moonlight River Starry Sky)