Yesterday morning, in the first round of women's singles at WTA1000 Indian Wells, Zhang Shuai, the former number one player of the Chinese women's tennis team, was in poor condition and lost to the qualifying player Honyu Shinui 7-5, 2-6 and 0-6. Has lost 18 consecutive games, setting a new WTA losing streak record.

On the other hand, Zhang Shuai's career bonus has reached 10 million US dollars, becoming the second Chinese player after Li Na to have a total bonus exceeding the 10 million US dollar mark.

　　Since retiring from the 2023 season due to injury, Zhang Shuai has never been able to truly regain his physical form.

Despite losing weight, Zhang Shuai still decided to come back and play both singles and doubles.

In the singles arena, Zhang Shuai has experienced a losing streak since last year. Before the Indian Wells game, he had lost 17 consecutive games, tying the WTA historical losing streak record "held" by Ruth, Collins and others.

　　In the first round of this competition, Zhang Shuai faced the Japanese player Ma Yui Motodama, who broke through from the qualifying round and entered the main draw. The two had played against each other once before, and Zhang Shuai won.

At the beginning of the game, Zhang Shuai struggled. He was defeated by his opponent and fell behind 3-5 at one point.

After that, Zhang Shuai improved the stability of his baseline attack, winning 4 consecutive games and winning the first set 7-5.

But then Zhang Shuai was trapped and his physical fitness declined, and his condition was completely lost. After 2-2 in the second set, he lost 10 consecutive games. In the end, he was reversed 2-6 and 0-6, and missed the second round of Indian Wells.

　　This defeat caused Zhang Shuai to lose 18 consecutive singles matches across the season, which is the longest losing streak in WTA history.

On the other hand, Zhang Shuai's career has reached a new milestone.

Before the start of Indian Wells, Zhang Shuai's career total prize money reached US$9.994 million.

Although Zhang Shuai was eliminated in the first round of singles, she still received the first-round bonus of US$30,050. Her total career bonus exceeded US$10 million, becoming the second Chinese tennis player after Li Na to have a total bonus of more than US$10 million.

　　In other games, Wang Yafan was upset and lost to Slovak qualifier Slamkova 4-6 and 0-6. This was her first loss against a foreign player this season.

　　Text/reporter Chu Peng