China Sports Weekly (6.22-6.28)

Canada Standard

12 hours ago

BEIJING, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Here are the latest Chinese sports headlines from the past week:
1. China's Wang Xinyu finishes runner-up at WTA Berlin Open with grass-court breakthrough
China's rising star Wang Xinyu capped off a milestone week at the WTA 500 Berlin Open with a runner-up finish on June 22, following a fierce three-set battle against former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova.
Despite falling in Sunday's final by 7-6 (10), 4-6, 6-2, the 23-year-old delivered a career-best performance on grass and signaled her growing presence among the game's elites.
Wang's performance in Berlin was the first time she has reached a grass-court final. After navigating two rounds of qualifying, the Chinese ousted world No. 16 Daria Kasatkina in the first round, then stunned newly-crowned French Open champion and world No. 2 Coco Gauff 2-0 for her first career victory against a top-two player.
2. Star center Yang becomes third Chinese selected in first round of NBA Draft
Star center Yang Hansen became the third Chinese player to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft where he was picked 16th overall on June 25 and is headed to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Portland initially had the 11th pick and traded their pick positions with the Memphis Grizzlies.
"I am very happy," said Yang, who turns 20 on June 26. "I was also surprised and excited. My legs are shaking even now."
Standing at 2.18 meters, Yang is now the highest-ranked Chinese draft pick since Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian, who were selected No. 1 by the Houston Rockets in 2002 and No. 6 by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2007, respectively.
3. China sacks coach Branko Ivankovic after World Cup qualifying failure
The Chinese Football Association (CFA) announced on June 27 the dismissal of national team head coach Branko Ivankovic following China's failure to secure qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The CFA confirmed in an official statement that its contract with Ivankovic has been automatically terminated after China failed to advance into the playoff stage of the World Cup Asian qualifiers.
"The Chinese Football Association expresses gratitude to Mr. Branko Ivankovic and his coaching staff for their dedicated efforts during their tenure with the men's national team and their contributions to Chinese football. We wish Mr. Ivankovic all the best in his future work and life," the statement said.
The CFA also announced that Dejan Djurdjevic as caretaker manager of the men's national team, and the Serbian will lead China's campaign at the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Football Championship.
4. China suffers straight losses at 2025 Volleyball Men's Nations League in Chicago
China suffered three consecutive losses at the 2025 Volleyball Men's Nations League (VNL) Chicago leg, falling to the United States, Brazil and Italy.
Ranked world No. 24, China was narrowed defeated by Team USA 25-22, 21-25, 19-25, 25-16, 15-11 on June 25. Having to face Brazil within 15 hours in a packed schedule, China fell short 25-22, 25-16 and 25-23, before conceding to world champion Italy 25-18, 25-15, and 25-19 on June 27.
"We were trying to fight, and the most important is that you play at your maximum, but you have to accept sometimes that other teams are better," China's Belgian head coach Vital Heynen said after the Italy defeat.
China is scheduled to face Canada on June 29.
5. China's basketball governing body stresses zero tolerance on doping after two violations in CBA
The Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) has emphasized its zero tolerance on anti-doping efforts after two overseas players test positive during an in-competition test in the CBA league in April.
In a statement released on June 24, the CBA said it has noted the disclosure by the China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) one day prior regarding doping violations involving Montrezl Dashay Harrell and Troy Akeem Gillenwater, both from the United States.
According to CHINADA's report, Harrell and Gillenwater, then playing for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers and the Guangdong Southern Tigers respectively, tested positive for tetrahydrocannabinolic acid. Both of them gave up the right of having their B samples analyzed.
"The CBA firmly opposes any form of doping violations and maintains a zero tolerance stance on anti-doping efforts," read the statement. "We are committed to safeguarding the integrity and fairness of basketball and will not tolerate any breaches of anti-doping rules."