The Scot has risen rapidly up the rankings since leaving college in the United States in the spring.
Coco Gauff survived a scare to beat Ukrainian qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva in three sets and reach the China Open semi-finals on Thursday.Zhang was the lowest-ranked player ever to reach this stage at the China Open.
China's 595th-ranked Zhang Shuai has vowed to play on after her historic run in Beijing ended valiantly in the quarter-finals on Thursday.Zhang, a former top-25 player who is set to rocket up the rankings into the 200s, added: "Next year I will try to play as many singles as well as doubles matches."