Surging start to season fuels Chinese aces' major hopes

Beaming with confidence and hitting with force, Chinese tennis players got their 2024 campaign off to a flying start with a series of deep runs boding well for the first major of the year.

With a pair of semifinal berths on the men's and women's pro circuits as well as a strong performance at the country's United Cup debut, Chinese players picked up where they left off last year and will now be hoping to keep the momentum going at the Australian Open, where the main-draw action gets underway on Jan 14.

Leading the surge was teen sensation Shang Juncheng, who, as a wild card, fought all the way into his first career semifinal at the ATP 250 Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open.