China’s rising tennis stars Yuan Yue and Zhang Zhizhen faced early exits at the Indian Wells tournament, both bowing out in the first round on Thursday.
In the WTA 1000 event, world No. 68 Yuan Yue struggled against Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska. Yuan’s serve proved challenging as she won only 50% of her service points and converted just two out of six break points. Yastremska, ranked 46th, secured a 6-2, 6-4 victory and will advance to face world No. 32 Ons Jabeur of Tunisia in the second round.
On the men’s side at the ATP Masters 1000, Zhang Zhizhen, ranked world No. 51, started strong against Canada’s Gabriel Diallo. Despite winning the first set 6-2 and delivering 11 aces with more winners, Zhang couldn’t maintain his momentum. Diallo, ranked 88th, displayed resilience in a rain-interrupted match, ultimately winning 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(7) after two hours and 49 minutes of play. Diallo moves on to face France’s Arthur Fils, the world No. 21, who had a first-round bye.
The early departures mark a setback for China’s top players at Indian Wells, but both Yuan and Zhang have shown potential that bodes well for future tournaments.
