Zhang Ziyu, the tallest teenager in the world!

Who is Zhang Ziyu?

Zhang was born in 2007 in Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province, China. She grew up in a family deeply oriented towards basketball. Both of her parents are former professional players. Her father is 2.13 meters tall, and her mother is 1.98 meters tall. Her mother even played for the Chinese national basketball team. Later, she became a coach and introduced her daughter to basketball when she was 5 years old.

Shandong, her birth region, is known for the tall average height of its inhabitants. After a typical schooling, she continued her studies at prestigious institutions that combine sports and academics, namely Tsinghua University in Beijing and the Shandong Experimental Sports High School in Jinan.

How Tall is Zhang Ziyu?

At 18 years old, Zhang Ziyu is the tallest teenager in the world. She stands at 2.26 meters tall. She is taller than all current NBA players. She is 20 cm taller than the tallest player in the 2023 Women’s EuroBasket. She is just three centimeters shorter than the Chinese basketball legend Yao Ming.

At 6 years old, in her first year of elementary school, she was already 1.60 meters tall. By the end of elementary school at 11 years old, she had reached 2.06 meters. During recess, she used to amuse herself by carrying classmates who bothered her with one arm. At 14 years old, she exceeded 2.20 meters. Her growth seems to have stabilized around the age of 17-18. Zhang Ziyu also weighs 130 kg, which greatly helps her excel in basketball.

A Promising Basketball Career

Standing at 2.26 meters tall and weighing 130 kg at 18 years old, Zhang is an unstoppable force of nature in basketball. She is also one of the few female basketball players capable of dunking. The general public discovered her when she was 14 years old during the national U15 finals. She delivered a memorable performance with 42 points, 25 rebounds, and 6 blocks. Other surreal performances followed in the national championship.

Two years later, in 2023, she dominated the U17 category and led her team to the finals, where she scored 30 points and grabbed 21 rebounds in 26 minutes. A year later, she was selected for the first time on a national team. She joined the Chinese U18 team for the U18 Asia Cup. She delivered stratospheric performances but lost in the final. Her tournament statistics were 35 points and 12.8 rebounds. Unsurprisingly, she was named MVP.

In 2025, and before even playing a single professional match, she was invited to participate in the Chinese Championship All-Star Game. She scored 17 points and won the game. A few months later, she joined the senior team for a friendly match. She scored 18 points in 12 minutes. Following this impressive performance, she was selected for the 2025 Women’s Asia Cup. China finished third.
The next steps for her will be to turn professional before considering the WNBA.