In 1999 she won the gold medal at the World Table Tennis Championships and the ITTF tour finals in both singles and doubles.

However, in the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, she lost two finals in the singles and women's teams competitions, winning no gold medals.

A lot of rumors claimed that she was going to retire because her skills were depleted and she could not compete on the improving world stage.

Many people didn't expect her success before the competition began; however, the three gold medals proved that she was still one of the top players in the world.

At the 2004 Summer Olympics Wang Nan failed to retain her singles crown but went on to win the women's doubles with Zhang Yining.