Various notable names remain in the Ningbo Open draw, including Jasmine Paolini, Elena Rybakina and new world number 10 Ekaterina Alexandrova.
However, some of the biggest names in the sport – Mirra Andreeva and Emma Raducanu – have already been knocked out.
Raducanu struggled physically during her three-set loss on Tuesday, and top seed Andreeva was stunned just a day later.
Raducanu and Andreeva would have both hoped for deep runs in Ningbo after disappointing results at the China Open and Wuhan Open.
However, it was not to be for either player, both of whom fell at the hands of the same competitor.
Meet Lin Zhu
World number 219 Lin Zhu has stunned both Emma Raducanu and Mirra Andreeva at the Ningbo Open this week.
The former world number 31, who trains in Guangzhou, China, first fought from a set down against an ailing Raducanu to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
Zhu followed this up by defeating the Russian top seed, again battling back from a set down to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
The 31-year-old made her WTA Tour debut at the 2014 Hong Kong Open, where she defeated Kristýna Plíšková for her first WTA Tour main draw win.
The Chinese star made her Grand Slam debut at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships. Four years later, she won her first Grand Slam singles match at the 2019 US Open.
Zhu won her first and only WTA Tour tournament to date in 2019, pairing with Wang Xinyu to win the doubles tournament in Jiangxi, China.
Zhu’s best Grand Slam performance
The 31-year-old has reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam at one tournament.
Her maiden fourth-round major appearance came at the 2023 Australian Open, where she defeated Rebecca Marino, Jill Teichmann and sixth seed Maria Sakkari.
Zhu then fell to Victoria Azarenka in a close three-set contest – 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
Zhu has reached the third round at Wimbledon and US Open in 2023 and 2024 respectively. She has failed to move past the French Open first round in five attempts.
