Lily Zhang's 2025 is off to a great start on the international stage, as she recorded her best ever finish in a WTT Grand Smash by reaching the last 16 in Singapore. 

Zhang stormed through her first round match against the host nation's Ser Lin Qian. A dominant 3-0 win was a good confidence boost, and saw her advance into the last 32. 

Her next match would be a tough challenge against 2024 Olympic Teams bronze medalist Lee Eunhye from Korea. She is currently ranked 42 in the world as of January 2025. 

The beginning of the match saw a tightly contested first game, but Zhang held her nerve to lock in the important points to seal the game. 

The second was sheer dominance from the 4-time US Olympian. She flew out to an astounding 8-0 lead and appeared hyper focused on placement strategies. Lots of pace variation and placement switches with the backhand seemed to unsettle Lee as she struggled to adjust. 

Lee led through the first handful of points in the third, but it appeared Lily had cracked the strategic code, with US team coach Gao Jun on her bench. 

She cruised through to another convincing 3-0 victory. 33 total points won for Lily, just 13 for her opponent. 

The win set her up for an appearance in the Round of 16, her best progress in a WTT Grand Smash to date. She was set to face 2024 Olympic Singles Bronze Medalist Hina Hayata, a player who was the favourite on ranking, results and the head to head.

Zhang had, in her previous encounters, been able to apply some pressure to Hayata throughout certain points in matches, but thus far the challenge had proved too great. 

Unfortunately for Lily, today would prove no different. Hayata's serve proved to be a great advantage during the match, and her skill in the faster topspin exchanges and excellent angle plays showed why she is one of the world's very best. 

Zhang trailed 2-0. The first game had clearly been in Hayata's favour. The second Zhang made some ground and held a 7-4 lead, but Hayata held her at 7, winning 7 in a row to claim the game. 

Lily trailed by 3 at the start of the third, but pressed on and took control of the game. She didn't look back and seemed to have tightened up more on the height of the serve receive, but also the recovery out from the receive to the next ball. 

While Zhang was able to take the third game, the fourth was a reset from Hayata and she came back focused and unshakeable. She led from the first point and soared across the finish line. 3-1 victory for Hayata. 

Overall a great performance, and a good tournament for Lily Zhang!