Tennis has exploded in popularity in China over the last 15 years.
Ever since Li Na rose in the ranks and nabbed two Grand Slam titles in 2011 and 2014, the nation has fully embraced the sport; there’s a whopping 25 million tennis enthusiasts who will be backing Team China in the upcoming United Cup in January.
The 2025 season was a landmark year for Chinese tennis, highlighted by the nation hosting the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Shenzhen. Led by 2024 Olympic mixed doubles silver medallist Wang Xinyu, Team China ultimately fell to eventual champions Italy, but not before pushing them to the limit – performances that reaffirmed their steady rise on the world stage.
In the United Cup, however, China is still chasing its breakthrough moment. Since its debut in 2024, the team has twice advanced to the knockout stages but is yet to reach the semifinals.
Despite this, January may mark a season of change for Team China as it’s spearheaded by trailblazing Zhang Zhizhen and dynamo Zhu Lin, both coming off strong comeback seasons with renewed confidence and a hunger to make up for lost time.
TICKETS: Cheer on Team China at the United Cup in Sydney
In 2022, Zhang became the first Chinese player in PIF ATP rankings history to crack the top 100.
On the Grand Slam stage at US Open 2023, he became the first Chinese man to defeat a top-five opponent, when he beat then-world No.5 Casper Ruud. In the same year, he also became the first Chinese player to reach an ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal, which he did in Madrid.
In 2024, he reached his second ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal in Rome, which led to his career-high ranking of world No.31.
Sidelined for six months with a shoulder injury earlier in 2025, Zhang made his ATP Masters 1000 comeback in his homeland at Shanghai, where – despite winning the first set – he fell to Sebastian Baez in the first round.
Nevertheless, Zhizhen continues to work towards full strength and form, and the United Cup just might be the stage on which to witness it all come together.
“Just try to keep playing and believing in yourself every single time,” Zhang said of his approach. “[Even in] tough moments, still try to believe [in] yourself. In the end you’ll make it.”
At United Cup 2026, Zhang teams up with Zhu, a powerhouse player who hit a career-high ranking of No.33 in 2023 and in the past few years has bested top-name players including Mirra Andreeva, Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sakkari, Ekaterina Alexandrova and Caroline Garcia.
Zhu’s 2025 season experienced a rocky start with a six-month break to recover from an elbow injury, yet the 31-year-old is getting back into the swing of things. On home soil at the Ningbo Open in October, she took out world No.29 Emma Raducanu in the first round before that win over Andreeva – the top-seeded world No.6 – en route to the quarterfinals.
At the United Cup, Zhu will continue her journey back to top form alongside her teammates Zhang, Rigele Te, Aoran Wang and Xiaodi You.
We’re left with one last thought: Will the millions of Chinese tennis enthusiasts have the opportunity to witness its team go deep at the United Cup in 2026?
We’ll find out when Team China kicks off its campaign in Sydney against Belgium on 3 January.
