Chinese tennis star Qiang Wang retires, cites mental exhaustion

Former world number 12 China’s Qiang Wang announced her retirement from professional tennis after a disappointing outing at the US Open 2024. The fourth and final Grand Slam of the year began on Monday where players from all over the world are showcasing their talent to secure the ultimate prize.

Wang was one of the players whose journey came to an end in the first-round where she lost to Liudmila Samsonova in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 7-5. As per the WTA official website, the 32-year-old has announced her retirement from professional tennis after the result. The report stated that the primary reason for her retirement has been mental exhaustion created because of extensive travelling and dealing with jetlag.

"I know how difficult it will be to go back. It's really too difficult,” she said. “Not to mention leaving my family and career, I just don't want to go out. When I was young, I didn't think too much. Everyone urged me to move forward. Later, I took a break for a while because of the epidemic, and I didn't return to China for a long time. I really couldn't bear it mentally.”

Qiang finished her career after winning two WTA title including one Challengers title. Her highest ranking spot was 12th which she registered in September 2019. During her career, Qiang registered just impressive wins against known opponents such as the former world number ones Venus Williams, Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka, Spain’s Garbiñe Muguruza, Karolina Pliskova, Elina Svitolina, Greece’s Maria Sakkari, Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko and America’s Madison Keys.

In the major events, Qiang never managed to play in the semifinal or beyond in any competition. Her most impressive outing was in the US Open back in 2019 when she lost in the quarterfinal to the former world number one and legendary tennis star America’s Serena Williams in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 6-0.