WANG XINYU from Shenzhen won the women’s doubles title at the French Open on Sunday to become the city’s first Grand Slam champion, a major breakthrough for the city.

Wang and her partner Hsieh Su-wei from Chinese Taipei rallied from a setback in the final to defeat Taylor Townsend of the U.S. and Canada’s Leylah Fernandez, 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-1, to win the coveted doubles trophy at the clay court major tournament in Paris.

Competing at their second tournament after teaming up at the warm-up event in Strasbourg, Germany, Wang and Hsieh pulled off a stunning campaign that saw them upset five higher-ranked seeded teams to claim their first doubles title of the season.

Wang, a 21-year-old native of Shenzhen, became the fifth Chinese mainland player to lift a doubles trophy at the Grand Slam stage.

Last week in the singles draw, Wang also achieved her career best at a Grand Slam event by reaching the third round in Paris, where she eventually lost to tournament champion Iga Swiatek of Poland in straight sets.

Wang, who is ranked 80th in singles and 105th in doubles, attributed her breakthrough to veteran Hsieh’s lead.

“Thanks for the support of the audience. Thank you to my partner for playing with me. It was kind of a last-second decision [to team up]. I am happy we made it so far, really enjoyed playing with you,” Wang said in fluent English during the trophy ceremony.

In 2022, Wang, troubled with injuries and issues with new coaching team, wasn’t playing up to potential. According to her father, Wang Peng, the treatment for her left elbow wasn’t very satisfactory so she had to adjust to her new situation.

Though making a breakthrough in doubles, Wang said she would still focus on her game for singles.

“I hope to have enough time for training systematically. Too many competitions will affect my performance,” Wang said, adding that her future goal is to win the Grand Slam champion for singles.

“There are always ups and downs in sports and life, you can gain more through experiences. I see the things that need to be improved through competitions in the season this year. It is a very positive thing,” Wang said.                     (Han Ximin)