Zhang Ziyu, the 2.23m Chinese “girl” who amazes at the World Cup and knits stuffed animals

Seeing her sitting down is already impressive. When she stands up, you can only look up at the sky. Zhang Ziyu is 19 years old and measures 2.23m. She is the tallest professional basketball player in history and the main attraction at the Berlin World Cup, which she is playing with the Chinese national team, but as she herself recalls, she is still almost a child. “Everyone thinks I am very tough because I am very tall, but I am still a young girl, sometimes quite childish,” Zhang says in a FIBA documentary. It shows in her still childlike face, in the jokes with her teammates, and in the laughter when she runs through the mixed zone. And in her hobby of crocheting crafts that she gives to her friends, like a plush elephant that took two weeks to sew with wool. When she recalls how she became a star, she says she misses her childhood bed full of rag bears.

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The centimeters come from the factory. Her father, Yuquan, was a professional at 2.13m. Her mother, Yu Ying, an international player at 1.98m. Ziyu, characters meaning “girl of the universe,” was already 1.60m tall at seven years old and dominated her size in the lower categories. Last season she debuted in the Chinese first division with her team, Shandong, has already made a dunk with the national team, although she barely jumps, and now emerges in the World Cup without the WNBA losing track of her progress. In Berlin, she averages eight points and five rebounds in 12 minutes per game, and this Wednesday (17:45, Tdp and Movistar) she seeks the quarterfinals against Puerto Rico, a round in which Spain awaits an opponent (Australia or Italy, who play each other; 20:45).

That huge frame has its advantages but also its drawbacks, as points out Spanish coach César Rupérez, who was assistant coach of the Chinese senior national team between 2022 and 2025 (before the Spanish team between 2014 and 2019) and worked with Zhang in the last Asia Cup. “People see a 2.23m player but forget she is a girl. You see it living with her, on trips, in the jokes. As a player, the obvious thing is her ability to play at a unique height in women’s basketball. When talking to her, you notice she has a well-furnished head. She is aware of what she represents, what lies ahead, her potential, and her difficulties. She knows she must face difficult challenges because of the type of defenses she suffers, of pushing her all the time to get her out of the zone, the continuous contact, the danger that her elbows are at the opponent’s face level… Mentally that is very hard, there is no respite. She doesn’t want to be a punching bag, she wants to play without fear, to be aggressive,” Rupérez explains.

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A personal physical trainer accompanies Zhang all year round, at her club and in the national team. The national team has designed a specific plan that includes a nutritionist and individual training sessions. The Great Wall of China does not endure a usual practice like the rest, but trains on half the court and, before games, separated from her teammates. “Physically she has to make a brutal effort to take care of her health, not to get injured. Because of her lack of mobility, that is not easy,” adds Rupérez. At the hotel, she needs a bed extension and competes with knee pads.

The other big challenge awaits her outside: living with her fame and the comparisons with Yao Ming, the great Chinese center who succeeded in the NBA. At airports, she needs private security to reach the boarding gate because of the excitement she raises, and on the street, everyone turns to look at her. “She is very famous, a project to become a reference in world basketball,” says the Spanish coach.

The match between China and the United States at the World Cup left an iconic image, that of Zhang bending down to talk to Paige Bueckers, 40 centimeters shorter (1.83m). “I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Caitlin Clark. The Chinese coach, Luming Gong, says that “she is a unique player in 100 years, as special as the feathers of a phoenix or a unicorn.” Zhang Ziyu only considers herself a girl who loves basketball.

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