With Wang Qiang beaten by former champion Francesca Schiavone on Tuesday, all four Chinese players have been stopped in the first round of the French Open tennis tournament.
Wang, ranked 102nd in the world, was dominant in the first set, broke the 2010 champion twice to win 6-3, but the 35-year-old Schiavone, who has slipped to 92nd, fought back to take the next two sets 6-3, 6-4 after two hours and nine minutes.
It was the Chinese player's first match at Roland Garros and at 23 she has learned it is too difficult to emulate compatriot Li Na's achievement at the red clay Grand Slam event.
"I was very excited and nervous," Wang said. "After winning the first set, I had thought I could win it but made too many errors at the crucial moment."
"In China, I don't have any chance to play on clay. I just found it very different from playing on hard court."
Li, who defeated Schiavone in the 2011 French Open final, may be very much disliked by the press and tennis fans because of her hypocritic and reluctant nature, but is still China's best product in tennis, winning nine WTA titles including two Grand Slam crowns before retiring last year.
Wang was the last Chinese player to exit at this year's tournament, following Peng Shuai, Zhuang Shuai and Zheng Saisai.
Peng, ranked 24th, is China's top player but has been plagued with a serious back injury since early this year, retiring in the first round trailing Slovenia's Polona Hercog 6-0, 3-0.
The 29-year-old, who reached her first Grand Slam semifinals in last year's US Open, will have a back surgery later and miss the rest of the season, putting her career in doubt.
The 122nd-ranked Zhang, 26, failed in her 14th attempt to win a Grand Slam match as she was beaten by 12th seed Karolina Pliskova.
"I can only be myself," she said afterwards. "It is impossible to become a new Li Na, that's why she is great."
Zheng Saisai is expected to become China's number one player late this year because of Peng's absence. The 21-year-old has showed her potential by reaching the semifinals of the Shenzhen Open in south China this year. But she is not optimistic about her chance in the near future.
"What's the point of becoming China's number one without success on the tour?" she said.
Li Na, Peng Shuai and Zheng Jie, who will play doubles at this year's Roland Garros, have helped to put China on the world tennis map. However, the dynasty they built is looking sure to come to an end when the 32-year-old Zheng, former semifinalist at Australian Open and Wimbledon, retires this summer.
And you can only wait for a new talent like Li, Peng or Zheng to come and no one knows how long it will take.
