Toronto’s Zhao is forging her own path
Her ranking has soared in second year as a pro after solid college career
Young players as successful as Carol Zhao was — among the 10 best players in the world as a junior — rarely opt to play U.S. college tennis.
There are pressures, both internal and external, to start their professional careers right away and build on that momentum.
And as she balanced a challenging course load and Division I tennis, Zhao watched some of her junior rivals hit the pro circuit and have immediate success.
Now 23, but just beginning her second year as a professional, Zhao doesn’t regret a thing.
“For me, college wasn’t just a tennis-based decision. It was a life-based decision,” she says. “You grow a ton, and you learn so much, and become a more complete person because of that.”
But if slow and steady wins the race, Zhao is on the right track.
For a few weeks last month, she even was the top Canadian in the WTA Tour rankings ahead of more celebrated phenoms Genie Bouchard, Françoise Abanda and Bianca Andreescu.
“Obviously, I took the road less travelled. And there’s always been a fair amount of doubt surrounding that, and surrounding my decisions,” Zhao says. “I’m still 130 in the world, and I have great prospective on that. But in some ways, for me personally, it’s a nice thing to have to validate all the work I’ve done and that the path I’m on is correct.”
Zhao bypassed her final year at Stanford, feeling she’d achieved all she could on the tennis side.
“I don’t think you ever really know when you make a decision like that if it’s the right one. What I felt at the time was that it was time,” she says. “I would have loved to enjoy my senior year but going on the pro tour, there’s a transition period. As much as you want to jump right into it — and some people successfully have — you see now that it takes time.
“Obviously the more time you can give yourself to do that, the better.”
The life lessons learned in college will come in handy for Zhao as she aims for the top100, and beyond.
“I was a pretty successful junior, and all throughout college I had a big winning record. The last year or two I went 52-20. Obviously, this year was a huge change from that,” she says. “But I have to see the positives in it, and see the good wins I’ve had, and not focus too much on the negative stuff.”
After last year’s Rogers Cup, Zhao was ranked No. 430 in the world. She has picked up nearly 300 spots since then.
She’s still awaiting the socalled “big breakthrough.” The progression has come slowly, steadily, mostly at smaller ITF circuit events.
On the bigger stages, Zhao has put herself in contention on numerous occasions this year — only to falter when came time to close it out.
“I have to see the positives … and not focus too much on the negative stuff.” CAROL ZHAO ON HER FIRST YEAR AS A PRO
“It’s encouraging that I’m putting myself in position to win, but obviously I want to be able to start finishing the job.” says.
Of all the women who have come through Tennis Canada’s national program, Zhao is by far the most complete. Technically sound with every shot in the book, she willingly abandoned the baseline to come to net even at a young age, and used her speed and variety to great effect.
But at the pro level, that type of game takes time to mature. Those who have early success, on the whole, are powerful baseliners who use their young, insouciant confidence to go on winning runs.
“First things first — ball quality is fundamental,” Zhao says. “Being able to make it so you have that room to be creative, the time and space to do want you want to do. Otherwise you’re going to play more reactive than proactive.”
Players often are asked about the challenges in making the transition. Most of the rote responses focus on the consistent quality of opposition, and the lack of free points taken for granted in the juniors.
“That’s the standard answer,” says Zhao. “Statistically, that’s probably true. For sure, the girls are going to hit deeper, and are going to make fewer mistakes in general. But I think the biggest difference is the mentality. Making that jump, believing that you belong with the best.
“I think, also, really knowing yourself. I think that’s something people don’t ask about a lot. Knowing what works for you, what your strengths and weaknesses are, and how to use those to maximum effectiveness,” she adds.
“Being in this position and trying to make a break for the top 100 has really pushed me to see what I maybe need to get better at. For me — someone who has more variety — it probably takes a little bit longer to put all those pieces together, especially since this is only my second year on Tour. It’s about making my game more polished, and make sure everything fits together.”