Junior and Youth National Team 2010–2013: First MVP award at international tournament After training professionally for two years, Zhu was selected to be on the Chinese Junior National team in 2010. She participated in
2011 FIVB Volleyball Girls' U18 World Championship and won a silver medal with the team. In 2012, she entered the U20 team and won the
2012 Asian Junior Women's Volleyball Championship. She was also awarded MVP for the first time. In 2013, she continued to represent China's U20 national team and attended the
2013 FIVB Volleyball Women's U20 World Championship, helping the team win the championship. She was awarded the MVP, Best Scorer, and Best Spiker of the tournament.
Senior National Team and Clubs 2013: First year in China National Team and Bronze medal at Club World Championship Zhu entered the Chinese senior national volleyball team for the first time in 2013, handpicked by
Lang Ping who returned as head coach that year. Zhu participated in her first tournament in
2013 Montreux Volley Masters. Although the Chinese team finished in sixth place, Zhu was awarded Best Scorer of the tournament. Zhu rose to prominence at the
2013 FIVB U20 World Championship where she helped her team to win the title without losing a set. She was awarded MVP and Best Outside Spiker in the tournament. Playing her first Grand Prix at the
2013 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix, Zhu helped her team to win silver medal, the first in six years. She was awarded Best Outside Spiker of the tournament. Zhu participated in the
2013 Club World Championship with
Guangdong Evergrande, winning the bronze medal after defeating
Voléro Zürich.
2014: Silver medal at the World Championship Zhu led the Chinese team to silver medal in the
2014 FIVB World Championship, the best result in 16 years. She scored 32 points in the semi-final against
Italy but lost to the
American Team in the final. Zhu was awarded Best Scorer as well as Best Outside Spiker.
2015: Asian Champion and World Cup Champion with National Team At the
2015 Asian Women's Volleyball Championship, the Chinese team won all matches and attained their 13th gold medal of the tournament. Zhu was awarded Most Valuable Player and Best Outside Spiker. At the
2015 FIVB World Cup, the Chinese team won their 4th gold medal of the tournament and their first World Title since
2004 Athens Olympics. Zhu was awarded Most Valuable Player and became the third Chinese player since
Sun Jinfang and
Lang Ping to earn the title.
2016: Olympics Gold Medal and first season overseas At the
2016 Rio Olympics the Chinese team defeated the two-time defending champion, the
Brazilian Team in 5 sets in the quarterfinal. Zhu scored 28 points. In the semifinal, they defeated
the Netherlands in 4 sets. Zhu scored 33 points, thus ranked no.3 on all-time top scorers list in a single match in the Olympic games. In the final, China defeated Serbia in 4 sets to earn their third Olympics gold medal since 2004. Zhu finished as the top scorer with a total of 179 points. She was awarded MVP and Best Outside Spiker, and became the third Chinese player since
Lang Ping and
Feng Kun to earn the MVP title. Zhu joined Turkish club
Vakıfbank Istanbul, becoming the youngest Chinese player playing overseas, with the help of her original club Henan Huawei as well as her Chinese Team head coach Lang Ping. Zhu was awarded Best Outside Hitter. She also became the first player in the tournament history to be the best scorer twice after scoring 103 points.
2017: Second Year in Vakifbank, four MVPs at different levels of competition Zhu won the
2016–17 Turkish League Best Outside Spiker and Best Scorer awards. In the regular season, VakıfBank finished first with only one loss throughout. However, the team was stunned in the semifinal by
Galatasaray S.K. and failed to reach the final, although they managed to finish third after defeating
Eczacıbaşı VitrA. At the
2016–17 CEV Champions League, VakıfBank won all six matches in the preliminary round. They defeated
Voléro Zürich in two 3–1 matches to reach the semifinal. They then defeated
Eczacıbaşı VitrA 3–0 to reach the final. Zhu scored 24 points. In the final VakıfBank defeated the host team
Imoco Volley Conegliano to win their third title of the tournament. Zhu scored 22 points and was awarded MVP. At the
2017 FIVB Club World Championship, VakıfBank remained undefeated in the group stage to reach the semifinal, where they beat
Eczacıbaşı VitrA 3–1 to reach the final. They then defeated
Rexona-Sesc Rio in straight sets to win the championship for a second time. Zhu was awarded MVP and Best Outside Spiker. She is the first Asian MVP in this tournament. In June, VakıfBank announced the renewal of contract with Zhu for the coming season. She was reported to be the world's highest paid volleyball player for a reputed salary of €1.35 million (US$1.61 million and HK$12 million). Zhu was named the new captain of
China women's national volleyball team in 2017. She helped her team to reach fourth place in the
2017 FIVB World Grand Prix and was awarded Best Outside Spiker. China then won gold medal in the
2017 FIVB World Grand Champions Cup. Zhu was awarded Best Outside Spiker and MVP. In December 2017, she won the
Turkish Cup with VakıfBank and was selected as Most Valuable Player.
2018: Third Year in Vakifbank and Bronze medal in 2018 World Championship with National Team In March, VakıfBank beat
Galatasary in the semifinal of
2017–18 Turkish Women's Volleyball League. Zhu scored 33 points in Round 2 to help the team enter the final. In April, Vakifbank beat
Eczacıbaşı VitrA 3:2 in the final to win the championship title. Zhu was the highest scorer of her team. Significantly, in the last round of the match, Zhu scored 20 points with an attack success rate of 68%, extremely high even among the best attackers. With this title, Zhu won the first national league championship in her career and was awarded MVP. In April, VakıfBank won
Voléro Zürich in Playoff 6 of
2017–18 CEV Women's Champions League. Zhu scored 21 points in Second Leg to help the team enter final four of the tournament. In May, Vakifbank beat Italian club
Imoco Volley and Romanian club
CSM Volei Alba Blaj in the semifinal and final, eventually winning the club's 4th championship title. Zhu scored 24 points and 15 points in these two rounds and was awarded Best Outside Spiker. Vakifbank swept all championship titles of the 2017–2018 season. With that, Zhu became the only volleyball player in the world to attain championship titles as well as MVP awards in club competitions of all levels, including the national, regional and world level. On June 21, VakıfBank announced the renewal of contract with Zhu which is her third season with the club. In July, Zhu returned to the National team and continued as a core player. She led the Chinese team to a bronze medal at the
2018 Nations League and was awarded Best Outside Spiker. In September, she made her debut in the Jakarta
Asian Games. The Chinese team was dominant throughout the tournament, winning the gold medal without dropping a single set. From September to October, she led the Chinese team to a bronze medal at her second
FIVB World Championship. She was again awarded Best Outside Spiker, her second at the Championship. In December, Zhu played at the
Club World Championship held in Zhejiang, China. With overwhelming support from her countrymen, she propelled Vakifbank to a resounding victory, beating two Brazilian clubs in the semifinal and final matches. Again, she was awarded the tournament's MVP and Best Outside Spiker.
2019–2020: Second World Cup Champion and return to Chinese League In March, Vakifbank beat Russian club
Dinamo Moscow in the second round of the quarter-final of the
2018–19 CEV Women's Champions League. Zhu scored 17 points with a greater-than-60% attack success rate. The team advanced to the semi-final. From April to May, Vakifbank beat
Eczacıbaşı VitrA 3:2 again in the final of the
2018–19 Turkish Women's Volleyball League and won the championship title. In the 5 matches of the final, Zhu scored 106 attack points with a 50% success rate, ranking first amongst all spikers. She again received the tournament MVP award. On 7 May, Zhu and Vakifbank announced that she would leave the team temporarily, in order to concentrate on training with the national team for the
2020 Summer Olympics. Zhu would return to Chinese League. In September, Zhu played her second
FIVB World Cup in
Japan. She led team China to win all 11 matches, successfully defending their champion. Zhu received her second FIVB World Cup MVP award and was elected Best Outside Spiker. On 1 October, Zhu announced via social media that she would join Chinese club
Tianjin Bohai Bank in the coming season. In December, Zhu and Tianjin team successfully enter the final of the 2019–20 Chinese Volleyball League. Zhu scored the highest points in the two semifinal matches against Beijing.
2021: Chinese League Champion, Wrist Injury, Tokyo Olympics and aftermath Zhu continued to play at Tianjin in the season 2020–21 and finally won the champion again. She received her second MVP award of Chinese Volleyball League. Zhu was plagued by an ongoing wrist injury that first occurred in 2017. Instead of opting for radical surgery, she underwent conservative treatment due to her volleyball schedule. The injury continued to plague her at the
Tokyo Olympics. After China's disappointing result in their bid to defend their Olympic champion, China's coaches and players were heavily criticized across social media by Chinese fans. In August 2021, Zhu announced she would be filing a lawsuit against
internet trolls for harassment and for "deliberately smearing" her. Meanwhile, Zhu did not sign with any club in season 2021/22, as she planned to take a rest and wait for surgery.
2022: Wrist surgery and recovery, Signed with Scandicci Zhu announced on her
Sina Weibo in April that she has successfully finished her wrist surgery and was undergoing rehabilitation. On 2 July,
Italian Serie A1 club
Savino del Bene Scandicci announced the transfer of Zhu to their club in the coming season, which is her second overseas career experience. On 3 November, Scandicci defeated
Casalmaggiore 3–0 in regular season games. Zhu was substituted at set two and three and contributed 6 points, including 5 spikes. This was Zhu's first match after 14 months since
Tokyo Olympics.
2023: CEV Cup Champions and extended contract with Scandicci On 13 April 2023, Scandicci beat
CSM Volei Alba Blaj in straight sets to win their first
Women's CEV Cup champion. Zhu scored 13 points. This was her first champion after her wrist surgery. On 28 May, Scandicci officially announced the extension of contract with Zhu for one more season.
2024: Return to Chinese National Team, Signed with Conegliano On 8 April 2024, Zhu announced on her social media that she will return to Chinese National Team, and play at
2024 FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League. Also, she entered the Chinese team roster of Paris Olympics, which was her third appearance at Olympics Games. On 27 June,
Italian Serie A1 club
Imoco Volley Conegliano announced the signing of Zhu in the coming season, which is her third season at Italian League. She is the first Chinese player in the history of the club and will play with the number 4. Zhu finally won all the competitions champions with the team in this season.
2025: Extended contract with Conegliano On 20 June 2025,
Imoco Volley Conegliano announced extended contract with Zhu in the coming season, which is her second season with the team. == Career statistics==