After the World Championships, No More Highlights: Zhao Jun Peng Suffers Seven First-Round Exits, Still Chinas Top Singles Player?

Jayce September 6, 2024 2 0

Following his loss to Hong Kong’s Ng Ka Long Angus in the first round of the 2022 French Open, Zhao Jun Peng not only suffered his third consecutive defeat against Ng Ka Long but also faced his third consecutive first-round exit after the Japan Open and Denmark Open. Even more disheartening, this marked Zhao Jun Peng’s seventh first-round exit of the season.

So far this season, Zhao Jun Peng has competed in 13 tournaments, including the All England Open (Super 1000), Korea Masters (Super 300), Malaysia Open (Super 750), Malaysia Masters (Super 500), Japan Open (Super 750), Denmark Open (Super 750), and the recent French Open (Super 750), all resulting in first-round exits. Another embarrassing statistic: despite these seven first-round exits, Zhao Jun Peng is currently ranked 18th in the world, making him the highest-ranked Chinese men’s singles player!

However, Zhao Jun Peng’s season hasn’t been without highlights. At the World Championships, he defeated Malaysia’s top men’s singles player Lee Zii Jia and eventually reached the semifinals, earning a bronze medal. He also made it to the finals of the Indonesia Masters (Super 1000), narrowly losing to current world number one Viktor Axelsen, which is a commendable achievement.

But for Zhao Jun Peng, born in 1996 and no longer considered a young player, such inconsistency raises doubts about his future. To secure a place in China’s national men’s singles team, Zhao Jun Peng needs to improve his stability further.