Tennis
The tennis player brought her opponent to a panic attack. Vile beyond comprehension
Zhang Shuai / Photo: © Attila Volgyi / XinHua / Global Look Press
Wild story from the women’s tournament in Budapest.
Wimbledon ended a few days ago, but the top tennis players did not take a break, but continued to participate in tournaments. Zhang Shuai, a Chinese woman known for her successful performances in doubles, came to Budapest for a clay tournament and found herself the victim of a huge scandal. The rival and the organizers simply mocked the girl.
The tennis player was driven to a panic attack.
Unsuccessful streak
The 34-year-old Chinese woman is a doubles star. She won two Grand Slams, was a finalist at last year’s Wimbledon, and in the summer of 2022 climbed to second place in the WTA doubles rankings.
However, Zhang Shuai’s solo performance is much worse. This season, she started well at the Australian Open, reaching the fourth round, but then a black streak began. Since February, the Chinese woman has consistently lost all matches. It got to the point that after the defeat in the first round of Roland Garros from Magdalena Frenkh, she burst into tears at a press conference. It was the eighth failure in a row:
“It is very easy to sit on the couch and criticize the form of the players. They are often scolded, especially on the Internet. At the same time, critics have no idea and do not want to think about what a person could face – physically or psychologically. I hope Zhang Shuai is all right,” wrote Australian tennis player John Millman at the time.
After that, a series of bad matches continued. At Wimbledon, Zhang Shuai lost to Croatian Vekic, extending her unbeaten streak to 12 matches. But paired with the American Caroline Dolehide, the Chinese reached the semi-finals in pairs.
Immediately after the end of the tournament in London, the athlete went to Budapest, where she was given the second seeding number at the WTA 250 tournament.
There was a trace – there is no trace
In the first round, Zhang Shuai’s rival was Amarissa Tot. The Hungarian athlete from the sixth hundred of the world ranking looked like an extremely successful lot.
However, with native stands, 20-year-old Tot resisted as best she could. And luck was on her side. With the score 5:5 in the first set, the ball after Zhang Shuai’s strike was out of bounds. However, the Chinese woman doubted this decision of the arbitrator, went to the net and saw a clear mark on the line. The mistake seemed obvious, but not to the judges.
The indignation of the Asian tennis player knew no bounds. She turned to the tournament supervisor to restore justice. Local spectators roared with displeasure. But the problem was solved by the Hungarian tennis player: Amarissa simply ran up to the line and erased the mark from the ball with the sole of her boot!
Such obvious impudence infuriated Zhang Shuai. She shouted at the Hungarian woman, but she only spread her hands, smiling slightly. This theater of the absurd led the Chinese tennis player to take medical time out to deal with a panic attack. As a result, Zhang Shuai decided to give up further struggle. Her opponent sincerely rejoiced at the victory with the audience.
It seems that the wild trick of the Hungarian was the last straw for Zhang Shuai. She lost for the 13th match in a row. I would like to believe that the black bar will end at an unlucky number.
Source: Sportbox
I am a sports journalist who has written for a number of Sportish. I have a background in journalism and have been writing since I was young. My main focus is sports news, but I also write about general news. I am currently working as an author at Sportish.