Seeing her seated is striking. When she stands, all you can do is look up. Zhang Ziyu is 19 and stands 2.23 meters tall (seven feet and three inches). She is the tallest professional women’s basketball player in history and the main attraction at the World Cup in Berlin, where she is competing with China’s national team, but as she herself points out, she’s still almost a child. “Everyone thinks I’m tough because I’m very tall, but I’m still a young girl, sometimes quite childish,” Zhang says in a FIBA documentary. It shows in her youthful face, in the jokes with her teammates and in the laughter as she runs through the mixed zone. And in her hobby of crocheting handicrafts that she gives to friends, like a stuffed elephant she spent two weeks sewing with yarn. When she recalls how she became a star, she says she misses her childhood bed full of rag dolls.

Height runs in the family. Her father, Yuquan, was a pro at 2.13 meters. Her mother, Yu Ying, was an international player standing 1.98 meters tall. Ziyu, which means “girl of the universe” in Chinese, was already 1.60m tall at seven years old and dominated her age group leagues. Last season she debuted in China’s top division with Shandong, has already recorded a dunk with the national team — though she rarely jumps — and now she is emerging at the World Cup while the WNBA watches her progression closely. In Berlin she is averaging eight points and five rebounds in 12 minutes per game, and on September 9 she will face Puerto Rico for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Ziyu’s huge frame has its advantages, but also drawbacks, as Spanish coach César Rupérez notes. Rupérez was an assistant with China’s senior national team from 2022 to 2025 (and with Spain from 2014 to 2019) and worked with Ziyu at the last Asia Cup. “People see a 2.23m player but forget that she’s just a girl. You see it when you’re hanging out with her — on trips, joking around. As a player, what stands out is her ability to play at a height that’s unique in women’s basketball. When you talk to her, you realize she’s very level-headed. She’s aware of what she represents, what lies ahead, her potential, and the challenges she faces. She knows she has to face tough challenges because of the kind of defense she faces — being pushed all the time to get her out position, the constant contact, the danger of her elbows being at the level of her opponent’s face… Mentally, that’s very tough; there’s no respite. She doesn’t want to be a punching bag; she wants to play without fear, to be aggressive,” Rupérez explains.

A personal strength and conditioning coach accompanies Ziyu year-round, at her club and with the national team. The national squad has designed a specific plan that includes a nutritionist and individualized training. Unlike the rest of the team, she doesn’t participate in regular practice; instead, she trains on half the court and, before games, separately from her teammates. “Physically, she has to make a tremendous effort to take care of her health and avoid injury. Given her limited mobility, that’s not easy,” adds Rupérez. At the hotel, she needs a bed extension, and she competes while wearing knee braces.

Another major challenge awaits her off the court: living with her fame and the comparisons to Yao Ming, the great Chinese center who succeeded in the NBA. At airports she needs private security to get to the boarding gate because of the attention she attracts, and on the street everyone turns when they see her. “She’s very famous and aims to become a leading force in world basketball,” the Spanish coach says.

The matchup between China and the United States at the World Cup produced an iconic image: Zhang bending down to speak with Paige Bueckers, who is 40 centimeters shorter (1.83m). “I’ve never seen anything like it,” Caitlin Clark said. China coach Luming Gong says she “is a one-in-a-hundred-years player, as special as the feathers of a phoenix or a unicorn.” Zhang Ziyu, meanwhile, considers herself just a girl who loves basketball.

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