China’s dominant mixed doubles pair Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong brought their illustrious careers to a perfect close on Thursday (Nov 20), capturing their first National Games mixed doubles title at the 15th National Games and completing the final missing piece of their trophy collection.
The Zhejiang-born duo—long-time world No.1 and reigning Olympic champions before retiring from international play—defeated Hunan’s Zhou Zhihong and Wei Yaxin 21–11, 21–12 in a commanding performance.
With this victory, the “Yasi” pair completed the rare Super Grand Slam in mixed doubles: the Olympics, Asian Games, World Championships, and World Tour Finals.
After the match, Zheng said:
“Yaqiong calls me the ‘flying man’ at the backcourt, but she’s the real anchor. In every crucial moment, she’s the one who calms me down. I tend to get emotional and stubborn during training, and my communication isn’t the best—I often upset her. I’m grateful for her constant understanding.”
Since forming their partnership in 2017, Zheng and Huang have dominated the world stage—winning three World Championships, four World Tour Finals, and nearly every major title available. They held the world No.1 ranking for 248 weeks, recorded a 38-match winning streak, and won 43 international titles, the most in mixed doubles history.
The National Games, however, had been the only major title they had yet to win. In 2017, Zheng (paired with Chen Qingchen) defeated Huang (paired with Lu Kai); in 2021, Zheng and Huang lost the final to Wang Yilu and Huang Dongping.
With no cross-province pairings permitted this year, and several top national pairs split up, the Zhejiang duo were heavy favorites. They swept through their earlier matches before defeating Zhou and Wei in the final.
In the final, “Yasi” showed their trademark composure, overturning a brief deficit in the first game with a five-point surge before maintaining control throughout. The second game saw early exchanges before they once again accelerated to clinch the win.
Zheng added:
“We’re grateful for these eight years together. Even though the Yasi pair is retiring from the court, we’ll always be together and continue working with each other in other ways.”
It was a fitting and flawless finale to their legendary partnership.
