Farewell — Wang Qiang Reveals Her Mental Journey in the Later Stage of Her Career

On November 28, after advancing to the semifinals of the CTA Hong Kong women's singles, Wang Qiang declared her withdrawal due to injury, signaling the conclusion of her tennis journey. Starting from her entry into the tour in 2014, winning her maiden title in 2018, reaching consecutive semifinals at the Wuhan Open and China Open, to breaking into the Grand Slam quarterfinals in 2019 and setting a personal best world ranking of No.12... Wang Qiang has spent many years creating numerous memorable moments on the court.

Wang Qiang Claimed Her First Career Title in 2018

On New Year's Eve 2020, Wang Qiang delivered a surprise to Chinese fans by defeating American legend Serena Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam champion, in the third round of the Australian Open. The CCTV Spring Festival Gala host’s words, “Wang Qiang defeated the mighty Serena,” allowed the entire nation to witness the strength and glory of Chinese tennis. She not only broke the 0-win streak against Serena Williams for Chinese players in Grand Slam singles but also showcased the rising potential of Chinese women's tennis to the world.

At that time, Wang Qiang was on an upward trajectory, but the arrival of the pandemic marked a major turning point in her career. Although she continued to defeat strong opponents in major tournaments after returning, her ability to maintain consistent and stable form declined significantly, which directly caused her world ranking to gradually drop. After concluding her 2022 season, Wang Qiang chose to step away from competition.

Wang Qiang Concludes Her Professional Career

In today’s live interview, Wang Qiang shared that as someone who deeply cherishes home, even when her schedule was tight before the pandemic, she would take a few days to return home and rest after every two or three tournaments. However, after the pandemic started, she spent seven to ten consecutive months traveling and competing overseas. This prolonged separation from her family, whom she heavily relies on for support, was extremely difficult for her and led her to reevaluate her life for the first time.

“During the suspension caused by the pandemic, I realized life doesn’t have to be a constant rush every day,” Wang Qiang said. For more than twenty years before that, her life was almost entirely consumed by tennis—from first picking up the sport as a child to gradually reaching the professional level. Her progress left little room for other life choices. Day after day of training, endless tournaments, switching venues and time zones—this was her entire existence. Accustomed to the high-pressure pace, she never felt exhausted until the brief pause during the pandemic made her suddenly aware of how tough her previous life had been.

What weighed even heavier on Wang Qiang was the psychological pressure from rising rankings. When she was a lower-ranked player challenging higher-ranked opponents, winning brought pure and intense joy; but as she became a studied player herself, the higher her ranking climbed, the heavier the burden became. She frankly admitted, “Other players study all your information, and they know exactly how you play crucial points.”

For Wang Qiang at that time, winning became an expectation, while losing to lower-ranked players plunged her into endless self-doubt. This gradually eroded her joy on the court, replaced by an indescribable torment. Although physically still capable of competing, mentally she could no longer bear the intense confrontation and pressure.

Wang Qiang

“I want to take a good rest for a while, do whatever I want, and not do things just for others or certain reasons. I now need a few years to rediscover my life, to feel what life really is.” Facing her retirement life, Wang Qiang is not lost; practicing yoga, boxing, and Pilates have all become new experiences in her daily routine.

Wang Qiang does not want to leave tennis behind; she has turned her attention to social media, hoping to use short videos and other formats to reveal the true side of professional tennis and share her experiences with tennis fans worldwide. Let us wish Wang Qiang a wonderful life after retirement, and Chinese fans will have the opportunity to continue accompanying her as she embarks on a new chapter.

(Text and editing: Dato, Photos: Li Jianyi)