At 31, she continues to break through; the Chinese women's tennis team is never short of inspiring heroines.

Despite the late start and development of professional tennis in China compared to Western countries, looking back over the last decade or so, Chinese players have been present in events such as Olympic doubles and singles gold medals, Grand Slam singles and doubles championships, and even world number one in women's doubles.

In this context, when discussing the inspiring figures within the Chinese team, every fan probably has their own choice. It could be Zheng Jie, who, standing at just 1.64 meters tall, won two Grand Slam women's doubles titles and reached the semifinals in both Wimbledon and the Australian Open; it could also be Zhang Shuai, who, after enduring 14 consecutive losses in Grand Slam singles main draws, finally broke through to the quarterfinals; or it might be Xu Yifan, Yang Zhaoxuan, and other less famous players.

Of course, the player we are focusing on today has also made headlines with her impressive performance this week. Born on January 28, 1994, Zhu Lin, at the age of 31, has just reached the round of 16 in a WTA 1000 event, marking her first time achieving three consecutive victories at this level in her professional career.

Zhu Lin faced significant injury issues by the end of the 2024 season. After losing to Sun Lulu in the third round of Wimbledon in a close match that went to two tiebreaks, she had to withdraw from the rest of the season due to injury.

Fast forward to this year's Australian Open, Zhu Lin, returning from injury, could only participate in the qualifying rounds due to her low ranking. In the first round, she lost 1-2 to a young French player, failing to secure her first win upon returning (she also exited in the first round of qualifying at the WTA 250 Singapore event).

After being eliminated in the first round of Wimbledon again, Zhu Lin, thanks to ranking protection, directly qualified for the WTA 1000 Montreal event, where she finally made a breakthrough by defeating 【Q】Gracheva, 【12】Alexandrova, and Ramens to reach the round of 16 in singles.

"At my age now, I feel more mature and composed. I don't set strict expectations for how well I should perform. I just approach each day with a calm mindset. Sometimes, it’s about the opponent's style matching mine, or perhaps luck in the draw. Overall, there are many factors involved, and I think it's important to seize the opportunity."

Zhu Lin, who has reached the round of 16 in a WTA 1000 event for the first time, will face Spanish player Bosas in the round of 16. Bosas recently fought through three sets to come back against Japanese player Aoi Ito, and the winner of their match will challenge the victor between 【1】Coco Gauff and 【W】Mbogu.

Before this tournament, Zhu Lin's world ranking was outside the top 500, but with her performance reaching the round of 16, she earned 120 points, bringing her immediate ranking up to 304. "Now, I lower my expectations for myself a bit; I just hope to stay healthy and perform well in every match."

We look forward to Zhu Lin maintaining her form and achieving more victories!(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Barbie)