China's Zhuang Shuai and Belgian Elise Mertens finished second place in the Wimbledon Championships women's doubles final on Sunday, as Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic became crowned champions with a 6-2, 6-4 victory.

Zhang, 33, remains to lead Chinese female players in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) singles standings going into Wimbledon at world No.41, and rising to No.37 after making it to the final.

She came to a career-high of No.23 in 2016 when she broke the spell of exiting all 14 Grand Slam attempts after the first round since 2008.

Zhang persisted through the age of 19 to 26 to achieve her much-deserved breakthrough when she beat Simona Halep, world No.2 then, in the opening round of the 2016 Australian Open, and convinced herself that she belonged to the game breaking all the way into last eight.

She won two Grand Slam doubles titles before Wilmbledon, both with Samantha Stosur from Australia in the 2019 Australian Open and 2021 U.S. Open. She has entered the Wimbledon Championships final for the first time with Mertens this season to play on a grass court.

"I don't need a vacation. I'm looking forward to the next competition, and I'll continue to work hard for my dream,"Zhang said after the final.

"They really played very well," said the first-time Wimbledon finalist. "Technically, their skills sometimes overwhelmed us and that's why it looked like we didn't play as well as we had done in the previous rounds,”Zhang praised the Czech duo.

Before Sunday, Zhang and Mertens had a total of five doubles titles to their names, while their finals rival had four. The top seeds enjoyed a 11-1 winning record this season, but the Czech duo had had chemistry from a much longer partnership since 2017.

Zhang will embrace a new partner, Laura Siegemund from Germany on Tuesday to prepare for the upcoming U.S. Open, while Mertens will reunite with her former teammate Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus.

"I need a relatively fixed teammate to play more matches together," said Zhang. "Both Laura and I had clinched a doubles title in the U.S. Open. We'll compete in the U.S. Open with good memories and hope for good luck this year," Zhang explained.

Rising to world No.2 in women's doubles after Wimbledon, Zhang continues to lead the Chinese squad with the uprise of teenage sensation Zheng Qinwen adding hope to a promising future for Chinese tennis players. 

"I would like the fans to see that I'm still getting better. There's a chance I might not reach my highest goal, but I hope they can feel the joy when I win, or at least I can be of some inspiration to them in their tough times. Just think that I'm also battling with difficulties. I hope they don't give up. The tiniest effort to persist can be rewarding," Zhang said.

(With input from Xinhua)