On December 27th, Beijing time, the 2025 United Cup Tennis Mixed Team Tournament kicked off, with the Chinese team, composed of Zhang Zhizhen, Zhang Shuai, Sun Fajing, Gao Xinyu, and Bai Yan, facing their first match against Brazil.
Last year, Zheng Qinwen partnered with Zhang Zhizhen to help the Chinese team reach the quarterfinals. This year, the Chinese team was ranked as the 5th seed in the event, grouped with Germany and Brazil. Due to Zheng Qinwen's temporary withdrawal, Gao Xinyu, ranked 175th in the world, stepped in to compete as China's top female singles player.
According to the order of play, the women's singles started first, with Gao Xinyu facing off against Maya, who is ranked 17th in the world, showing a clear gap in strength between the two. In the first set, Gao Xinyu was broken by Maya right from the start, but managed to break back in the tenth game to level at 5-5. However, she was broken again in the eleventh game and lost the set 5-7, putting her in a desperate situation.
In the second set, Gao Xinyu adjusted her game state, engaging in a competitive exchange with Maya and successfully breaking in the crucial tenth game to win 6-4, dragging the match into a decisive third set.
In the final set, Gao Xinyu was broken by Maya in the seventh game, but immediately broke back in the eighth game to level at 5-5 again. At this point, Gao Xinyu's physical energy was greatly depleted, and her movement began to lag behind Maya's, yet she continued to give her all for every shot. After holding serve in the eleventh game, she successfully broke in the twelfth game to win 7-5, achieving a total score of 2-1 to reverse Maya and helping the Chinese team take a 1-0 lead.
Statistics show that Gao Xinyu fought for 3 hours and 20 minutes, miraculously achieving a great comeback and securing her first career victory against a TOP20 opponent.
In fact, Gao Xinyu had already begun to show signs of injury during the match. To help the Chinese team secure this women's singles victory, she endured the discomfort in her thigh and fought for over three hours, demonstrating an iron will.
After the match, Gao Xinyu limped towards the Chinese team's seats, touching the hearts of many.
The next match is the men's singles, with Zhang Zhizhen facing Montiero. If Zhang Zhizhen loses, it will enter the third match, which is the mixed doubles, played on a best-of-three sets basis.