Wang Xinyu Photo: VCG

China's Wang Xinyu fell just short of a historic title at the WTA 500 Berlin Open on Sunday, losing 1-2 to 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the final. Wang, however, became only the fourth Chinese player to reach a grass-court tour final and the first Chinese woman tennis player to do so at the WTA 500 level.

Vondrousova started strong, targeting Wang's backhand with big serves. Wang stayed composed in long rallies and broke first in the seventh game but failed to convert four set points in the tiebreaker, losing 10-12.

In the second set, Wang stayed patient and broke in the 10th game to take it 6-4. But her energy faded in the decider, as Vondrousova's crafty slices and timely breaks secured the set 6-2 and the title.

Despite the loss, Wang reflected on an unforgettable week. "I had an incredible week," she said. "The atmosphere was fantastic. Thanks to everyone who supported me, and to the tournament organizers, sponsors, and staff. Congratulations to Marketa on the win, it's great to see her back after recovering from injury. I wish her the best at Wimbledon. I'll keep working to get better and look forward to my next event."

Looking back, Wang impressed throughout her Berlin campaign, playing more aggressively and showcasing a more versatile game style that yielded notable results. Coming through qualifying, she won six straight matches without dropping a set before the final, including a first-round upset of world No.16 Daria Kasatkina and a straight-set victory over newly crowned French Open champion Coco Gauff.

The Chinese Tennis Association sent a congratulatory message after the match, calling her run a breakthrough for Chinese tennis on grass and stating, "Your performance proves that anything is possible for Chinese tennis." 

In fact, Wang's tennis career has already seen its share of bright spots. Back in December 2017, at just 16 years old, Wang won the Australian Open wildcard playoff, earning a spot in the main draw of the 2018 Australian Open. It was her Grand Slam debut and set a new record as the youngest Chinese player to compete in a Grand Slam main draw. At the time, Maria Sharapova encouraged Wang by telling her, "You will become world No.1 one day."

In 2023, Wang reached the round of 16 in the US Open singles, her best Grand Slam singles performance to date. A year later at Wimbledon, she advanced to the women's singles last 16 for the first time and was the most successful Chinese player among the 11 who appeared in the main draw that year. Reflecting on her breakthrough, Wang attributed her progress to "not making winning the goal, and just enjoying the game."

"People used to question Wang's game as not being aggressive enough, but you can see in this tournament that she's made progress," sports commentator Luo Le told the Global Times on Monday. "She took advantage of the quick grass-court conditions to vary her game and showed versatility on both attack and defense. Perhaps it's this calm mentality that kept her one step away from the title. But considering where she started and how much she's grown, I still believe the future is bright for her - she's still so young."

Following the final, Wang rose to a career-high No.33 in the WTA rankings.