Sichuan
Picked from the crowd
Zheng Jie and Yan Zi were both chosen by coaches in Sichuan from a large group of young trainees, and grew up in the game together.
Source: CNNThe 21st century
Yan Zi
China · born Chengdu, 1984 · right-handed · Wimbledon doubles champion 2006 with Zheng Jie, China's first Wimbledon title
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2006
Wimbledon doubles champion with Zheng Jie, China's first Wimbledon title
2
Grand Slam doubles titles in 2006: Australian Open and Wimbledon
2
Grass titles in three weeks in 2006: Rosmalen and Wimbledon
4
Career-high doubles ranking, July 2006
2008
Olympic bronze in doubles in Beijing
Playing career
Yan Zi was born in Chengdu, Sichuan, on 12 November 1984. She and Zheng Jie, also from Sichuan, were picked out by coaches from a large group of young trainees, and she trained in the national squad alongside Zheng, Li Na and Peng Shuai at a time when, she later said, tennis was little regarded on the mainland.
Her singles career brought one title, at Guangzhou in 2005, and a high of No. 40 in 2008. Her success came in doubles, where she won 17 tour titles. With Zheng she won the Australian Open in January 2006, China's first Grand Slam title, and then Wimbledon, and she rose to No. 4 in July 2006. The pair also won the doubles gold at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha and the bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
She later settled in Hong Kong, became a Hong Kong citizen in 2014 and represented it until 2016. She served as assistant tournament director of the Hong Kong Tennis Open in 2015 and was appointed captain of Hong Kong's Fed Cup team.
On grass
| Rosmalen 2006 | With Zheng Jie, beat Ana Ivanović and Maria Kirilenko 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the final, the week before Wimbledon |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon 2006 final | Fourth seeds with Zheng; beat Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suárez 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 in 129 minutes. They led 5-1 in the third set, missed six championship points and won on the seventh |
| The opponents | Ruano Pascual and Suárez had won eight Grand Slam titles together; the defeat cost them a career doubles Grand Slam and was their third lost Wimbledon final |
Every grass title: 2
Show every title, tournament by tournament
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Women's doubles | with Zheng Jie |
| 's-Hertogenbosch (Rosmalen) | ||
| 2006 | Women's doubles Rosmalen Grass Court Championships | with Zheng Jie |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"We didn't get much funding, so we had to take care of our own coaching and medical treatment."
Anecdotes
The person behind the player.
China, 2000s
At the back of the parade
Yan remembered that her team often stood at the back of sports parades and was seen as making up the numbers rather than winning medals. She said public support later brought pressure that motivated her, and that she saw her career as a way of giving back to her country.
Source: Young Post (South China Morning Post)Chengdu, July 2006
Up all night
The final finished in the early hours of the morning in China. Yan's father stayed up to watch it, and her mother noted that the pair did not win until their seventh match point.
Source: Reuters via OneindiaBeijing, 2008
Bronze at home
At the Beijing Olympics Yan and Zheng beat Svetlana Kuznetsova and Dinara Safina 6-3, 5-7, 10-8 in the quarter-finals and, after losing the semi-final, took the bronze by beating Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko 6-2, 6-2.
Source: OlympediaHong Kong, 2014 to 2016
A new team
She moved to Hong Kong, took citizenship in 2014 and played for it until 2016. The Hong Kong Tennis Association appointed her Fed Cup captain, and in 2015 she was assistant tournament director of the Hong Kong Tennis Open.
Source: South China Morning Post; Young PostJoin Grass Tennis Club
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Where they won on grass
- Autotron Rosmalen, 's-Hertogenbosch
- All England Club, Wimbledon
- Find a grass court near you
Rivals and partners
- Zheng Jie
- Virginia Ruano Pascual
- Paola Suárez
- Ana Ivanović
On Grass Tennis Club
Elsewhere online
Sources
- "Yan and Zheng win China's first Wimbledon title", Oneindia, 2006
- "China's double doubles champion gets the message home", Reuters via Oneindia, 2006
- "Chinese pair win 2nd Grand Slam title", China Daily, 2006
- Zheng Jie profile, CNN, 2009
- "Tennis star Yan Zi comes out of retirement", Young Post, 2015
- "Hong Kong tennis seeks inspiration from former top players", South China Morning Post
- Yan Zi (tennis), Wikipedia
- 2006 Ordina Open, Wikipedia
- Tennis, women's doubles 2008, Olympedia
- Wimbledon draw 2006, ladies' doubles (AELTC)
- Wimbledon Compendium 2025 (AELTC)
- GTC roll of grass champions, checked against a second source where one exists
Page updated 4 November 2026. Spotted an error? Send a correction.
