In 2025, Guo Hanyu has achieved four significant milestones in her career.

This year has been a challenging one for Chinese tennis. Throughout the year, players like Zheng Qinwen, Zhang Zhizhen, and Shang Juncheng have faced various injuries. As a result, the performance of Chinese tennis players has declined. Nevertheless, the rise of younger talents born after 2005, such as Geng Xinle, Zhang Junhan, Wang Jiayi, and Zhu Chenting, has brought new hope to Chinese women's tennis. Objectively speaking, we can already see the future of Chinese female tennis players through their performances.

This year, one player has also experienced a new breakthrough in her career. Moreover, this breakthrough is not just a single achievement. So, who is this player? What kind of career breakthroughs has she achieved this year? Today, let this article take you on a journey to explore. This player is Guo Hanyu, who has been competing in doubles for a long time. Last season, Guo Hanyu reached the finals of the tour doubles four times and won her first WTA 500 tournament title at the Monterrey Open.

However, do not underestimate Guo Hanyu's singles capabilities. After all, she has won a singles championship at the World University Games. Furthermore, last season, she reached the finals of the Asia-Pacific wildcard tournament at the Australian Open. Although she fought hard in the finals but lost to veteran Zhang Shuai after three sets, it still proved her strength in singles.

In early March, at the Shenzhen Challenger, Guo Hanyu easily defeated Russian player Kudermetova in the first round and advanced smoothly. In the second round, she faced Israeli player Lee Glaishko and triumphed after a tough three-set match. In the quarterfinals, against the much higher-ranked Australian player Ar-Rodionova, Guo Hanyu fought hard for three sets and eventually won, making it to the semifinals. In the semifinals against compatriot Li Zongyu, after losing the first set, she came back to win two sets in a row, advancing to her first singles final of the 2025 season. In the final, Guo Hanyu won in straight sets against fellow player You Xiaodi, claiming her first Challenger title and marking her first breakthrough of the year.

In early January, Guo Hanyu partnered with Russian player Panova to achieve four consecutive victories at the WTA 500 Adelaide International, winning their first tour doubles title of the year. In early June, they appeared at the WTA 500 Bad Homburg Open. In the first round, Guo Hanyu and Panova easily defeated the Russian duo of Kromacheva and the Hungarian player Stollár, advancing smoothly. In the second round, despite losing one set, they rallied to win two sets and overcame the Ukrainian duo of Na Kichenok and the American player Melichar, making it to the semifinals. In the semifinals, Guo Hanyu and Panova easily defeated compatriots Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan, reaching the tour doubles finals for the third time this year. In the final, they fought hard for three sets, overcoming the second-seeded Ukrainian player Lyudmyla Kichenok and Australian player Alize Perez to win the championship. This was Guo Hanyu's first time winning two WTA 500 titles in a season, marking her second breakthrough of the year.

At the end of July, due to Zhang Shuai's last-minute withdrawal, Guo Hanyu entered the qualifying rounds of the WTA 1000 Montreal event. In the qualifiers, she delivered two bagels, easily sweeping Romanian player Buzarnescu, making her debut in the main draw of a WTA 1000 tournament. In the first round of the main draw, facing Kazakhstan's Putintseva, Guo Hanyu unexpectedly won decisively, achieving her first victory in the main draw of a tour event, which marked her third breakthrough of the year.

This week, Guo Hanyu and Panova appeared at the WTA 1000 Cincinnati women's doubles tournament. However, they faced a tough challenge in the first round. The Japanese player Kato Miwa and Kazakhstan's Voskoboeva took the lead, putting pressure on their chances of advancing. Fortunately, in the following matches, Guo Hanyu and Panova rallied to win two sets in a row, advancing to the next round. In the second round, they battled the American duo of A. Muhammad and Dutch player Stuur and emerged victorious after three sets, reaching the quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 event for the second time this year.

In the quarterfinals, due to the unexpected withdrawal of Czech player Krejcikova and Latvian player Ostapenko, Guo Hanyu and Panova advanced without a fight to the semifinals. This marks Guo Hanyu's first time reaching the semifinals of a WTA 1000 event, representing her fourth breakthrough of the year. After achieving these four breakthroughs, Guo Hanyu has improved her singles ranking by nearly three hundred spots. This concludes today's tennis story; stay tuned for more tomorrow.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Yixin Jushi)