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Yuan Yue plays against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in their women's singles first-round match at the Australian Open on January 13, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. Photo: VCG

Although a record 11 Chinese tennis players made it into the main draw at the Australian Open, the first round of the tournament has seen the elimination of four young Chinese athletes. 

But despite the disappointing results, these players showed a positive attitude and a strong determination to improve.

Monday witnessed Yuan Yue suffer a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 defeat to 27th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, while men's hopeful Shang Juncheng called it quits due to a foot injury.

"My opponent had better serves and was more aggressive in the final set," Yuan told reporters after the match. "Overall, I played quite normally, while my opponent's performance was not consistent. If we met in an ordinary tour event, I might not necessarily lose."

Yuan unveiled ahead of the Australian Open that during the past winter season she gained 3.5 kilograms, which she attributed to an extensive training session.

"I feel much better than last year. Both my serve and the power of my shots have increased compared to last year," Yuan said. 

Another early exit for a Chinese tennis player involved 19-year-old Shang, who retired in the second set after suffering from an injury to his right foot.

"Retiring from a match is always a bad thing. If you step onto the court, you should give it your all and finish the match with the mindset of winning, regardless of who the opponent is or what your physical condition may be," Shang told the post-match news conference.  

"The feeling of being on the court was great, and I believed I could win today's match. However, my body simply wouldn't allow it."

Shang, who was a semifinalist at the Hong Kong Open in the buildup to 2025's Australian Open, reached the men's singles round of 32 in 2024, the best result by a male Chinese mainland player.

Many fans have pinned their expectations on Shang to become a leading player in men's singles. And Shang's fellow player Bu Yunchaokete, who made his Grand Slam main-draw debut directly through his world ranking in the top 100, was knocked out by Lebanese player Hady Habib, who ranked world No.219, on Sunday.

"Playing in a Grand Slam main draw for the first time, I've definitely gained a lot. I feel like I've had a new experience on a psychological level," the 22-year-old said during a post-match news conference. 

Shang and Bu's early exit left Zhang Zhizhen the only male player remaining in the competition. Meanwhile, world No.49 Zhang will start his Australian Open campaign on Tuesday by going up against 13th seed Holger Rune of Denmark.

Women's world No.37 Wang Xinyu, a Olympic silver medalist in the mixed doubles, said she sees room for improvement after being defeated by No.11 seed Paula Badosa of Spain.

"I can see some progress in the areas I've been working hard on. I think this was the best match I've played this season. I came here with great confidence because I felt like I had resolved many of the issues from last year," the 23-year-old athlete told reporters.  

"But the reality is that you quickly realize there's another situation that needs to be addressed. I think this might be one of the aspects of professional tennis. Perhaps this kind of situation makes your daily training not boring, as you need to study and solve new problems." 

Zheng Qinwen remains the only Chinese tennis player that has qualified for the second round after two days of competition.

Her fellow Chinese female tennis athletes Zheng Saisai, Wang Xiyu, Wang Yafan, veteran Zhang Shuai and qualifier Wei Sijia will compete at Melbourne Park on Tuesday.