For one Chinese tennis player the unfamiliar surrounds of a place in the last 32 of a grand slam, for another a continuing fall down the rankings and the potential loss of millions in sponsorship revenue.There were contrasting fortunes for qualifier Wang Xiyu and Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen at Roland Garros this week, although in truth only history makes the latter’s travails a surprise.Wang’s progress to the third round, courtesy of 26th seed Hailey Baptiste’s retirement due to injury when down 5-4 in the first set on Thursday, leaves her as the only Chinese woman left in the singles.And while Wang has now matched her career-best grand slam performance at the 2022 US Open, compatriot Zheng, a quarter-finalist in Paris last year, is slipping further down the world rankings and facing accusations that commercial interests have hampered her recovery from elbow surgery last year.Still, crashing out in straight sets to Poland’s Maja Chwalinska, a 24-year-old qualifier ranked 113th in the world, was a shock even by Zheng’s recent standards. It reduced the former No 4 to tears in the press conference afterwards.Wang Xiyu progressed to the third round after Hailey Baptiste retired hurt. Photo: Xinhua“This is definitely a heavy loss. Maybe it can give me a different perspective and help me come back stronger next time,” Zheng said.