China Open: the end of the fairy tale for Zhang Shuai, Carlos Alcaraz has no time to celebrate the title

Zhang Shuai’s historic run at the China Open ended in the quarterfinals on Thursday when the home team – ranked 595 in the world – faced Paula Badosa in straight sets.

The former world runner-up from Spain won 6-1, 7-6 and faced fourth seed Coco Gauff from the United States or Ukrainian qualifier Yulia Starodubtseva in the last four.

The 35-year-old Zhang, a two-time Grand Slam singles quarterfinalist who has been plagued by injuries, arrived in Beijing on a 24-straight singles defeat streak.

The painful losing streak, lasting more than 600 days, was the second-longest in the open era of the WTA Tour, which began in 1968.

However, the former top-25 player eventually won a match to start her tournament and then recorded three consecutive victories to improbably reach the last eight.

Zhang was the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the China Open, but her run came to an end in a match against Badosa, ranked 19th in the world.