Tennis Mixed Doubles Final: Chinese Pair Wang Xinyu & Zhang Zizhen Take Silver after Losing Tie-break to Czech Team, Still Making Olympic History for China

The mixed doubles final of the Paris Olympics tennis tournament took place at 03:30 on August 3. The Chinese pair of Wang Xinyu and Zhang Zizhen lost 1-2 in a tie-break to the Czech team of Siniaková and Macháček, earning them a silver medal but still creating history for Chinese Olympic mixed doubles tennis.

In the first set, the Chinese pair held serve with four consecutive points, taking an early 1-0 lead; their opponents also showed their experience in holding serve, with Siniaková’s volley at the net helping the Czech team level the score. In the third game, the Chinese pair continued their successful double net strategy to hold serve and take a 2-1 lead; in the fourth game, the Czech team successfully held serve in their last serving round, leveling the score at 2-2. However, in the subsequent serving game by Zhang Zizhen, two unforced errors led to the Chinese pair being broken, falling behind 2-4. In the next serving game by Wang Xinyu, the “Zhenxin” pair made continuous mistakes and were broken again; in the eighth game, the Czech team held serve successfully, winning the first set 6-2 and leading 1-0 overall.

In the second set, the “Zhenxin” pair held serve in the opening game, starting with a 1-0 lead; in the following four games, both sides held serve successfully, bringing the score to 3-2, with the “Zhenxin” pair in the lead. In the sixth game, the Chinese pair challenged their opponents’ serve, scoring continuously at the net and bringing the game score to 40-40, but the opponents then scored two consecutive points to hold serve. In Wang Xinyu’s serving game, she made a double fault, but thanks to Zhang Zizhen’s ability to capitalize on net errors, they quickly pulled ahead, leading 4-3 once again. In the eighth game, the Chinese pair started with a 30-0 lead but were then continuously chased down by their opponents, who held serve, bringing the score to a deadlock at 4-4. Both sides then held serve in their respective service games, with Zhang Zizhen showing great net skills, and the Chinese pair leading 6-5. In the opponent’s serving game, the “Zhenxin” pair saved multiple game points and secured a break point at a crucial moment, winning the second set 7-5 and leveling the overall score at 1-1, sending the match into a decisive tie-break.

In the third set, the decisive tie-break, the Chinese pair served first, with Zhang Zizhen’s steady and skillful serve helping the “Zhenxin” pair take the lead. They then capitalized on their opponents’ return errors and net volleys to lead 3-0. Subsequently, Macháček responded with consecutive attacks, leveling the score at 3-3. The two teams traded blows, and the score came to 8-6 in favor of the Chinese pair. An error by Wang Xinyu on the opponent’s serve brought the score back to level. Following this, Zhang Zizhen made another volleying error, and the two teams returned to square one. At a critical juncture, the Czech pair scored on serve again, while Zhang Zizhen committed a double fault, ultimately losing the tie-break 8-10 and settling for the silver medal with regret.