Zhu Zhenzhen, the first wheelchair player of the Chinese mainland that appeared in the Grand Slam tournaments (in the Australian Open in 2020), finished her journey at the French Open after playing in the women's doubles semifinals pairing with Manami Tanaka of Japan.

Zhu and Tanaka lost to Diede De Groot of the Netherlands and Maria Florencia Moreno of Argentina 3-6, 6-3 and 0-1 on Friday. Zhu also participated in the women's singles event and lost to the No. 2 seed Yui Kamiji of Japan 3-6 and 0-6 in the first round.

Having contracted osteomyelitis when she was two years old and beginning her life in a wheelchair, Zhu began to play tennis when she was 16. The sport has changed her life since then. She participated in the Paralympic Games in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on behalf of China and went all the way to the quarterfinals.

From 2019, Zhu began to play in the Wheelchair Tennis Tour. "I have two wheelchairs, one for daily life and the other for the matches," Zhu said. "I also need to take a luggage case with me, so the luggage cart is often taller than I am. I push my wheelchair with one hand the luggage cart with the other hand. Sometimes it's difficult to move uphill, but many will come to help me."

Zhu has to deal with various emergencies while flying all over the world to play matches. She recalled that once in Spain, she learned that it would take eight days for her match wheelchair to arrive. She wouldn't have made the competitions if she waited. Therefore, Zhu borrowed wheelchairs from other players.

"They needed to train and play too, so I had very limited time to use the borrowed wheelchair. That's why I borrowed three from different players," Zhu said. "When the first one had to use it, I went to the second or the third player. I had to change my wheelchair twice in one of the matches. Other players, their coaches and even the organizing committee were all surprised that I reached the final in the end."

"Players have customized wheelchairs, which means that every one of them is different from another. I suffered injuries in my hands and legs because the wheelchairs I borrowed didn't fit me well. I went through a lot of paint playing matches. But it's a new experience in my life and I fear no difficulty in life," Zhu added.

Zhu said that traveling all over the world to play tennis has changed her way of thinking and her view on life. She realized that there is no where she can't go in a wheelchair, including the tennis court. The fun of sports is for everyone, including people with disabilities.

"I want to show the world the development of wheelchair tennis in China. That's why I have been trying to play in all the world tour competitions I can go to," Zhu said. "There is a national flag next to every player's name on the ITF world rankings table. I enjoy watching my name continue to rise along with the Chinese national flag. It's my goal to put it top on the table."