Who’s the tennis player who broke the record for the longest losing streak in tennis history?

In the opening round of the 2024 Cincinnati Open tennis tournament, China’s Shuai Zhang suffered a defeat at the hands of Diana Shnaider, with a score of 2:0 in sets (6:1, 6:4). This loss marked Shuai’s 22nd consecutive defeat on the WTA tour, setting a new record for the longest losing streak in both men’s and women’s competitions.

This unfortunate streak surpassed the previous record held by Vincent Spadea, an American male player and former number 10 in the rankings, who had faced 21 consecutive defeats in ATP tournaments.

Shuai’s last taste of victory came on January 31, 2023, when she was better against American Madison Brengle in the 2023 Lyon Open tournament. Since then, she has struggled and lost in every subsequent tournament’s first round. Consequently, her WTA ranking has plummeted from 22nd place to 689th. Despite these challenges in the singles competitions, Shuai has found success in playing doubles, boasting two Grand Slam titles, and currently holding the 61st ranking in doubles.

Who’s Shuai Zhang?

The 35-year-old, born in Tianjin, started playing tennis at the age of six when her parents took her to a local tennis club. She turned professional in 2003 and played her first singles event in Mollerusa in August of that year. She has achieved reasonable success in the singles, reaching her highest ranking of No. 22 in January 2023. Zhang has won three WTA Tour singles titles at the Guangzhou International in 2013 and 2017 and the 2022 Lyon Open.

In doubles, she is at its best as a two-time major champion in women’s doubles, having won the 2019 Australian Open and the 2021 US Open, both alongside Samantha Stosur.

Zhang also finished runner-up at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships with Elise Mertens. She achieved a career-high doubles ranking of No. 2 in July 2022 and has won 13 titles on the WTA Tour, including the 2021 Cincinnati Open with Samantha Stosur (AUS).