In 2011, her contract with the Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) was not renewed after a reported falling out with then-singles head coach Luan Ching over a curfew.

[8] In 2018, she won her first BWF World Tour title at the India Open, defeating host player and defending champion P. V. Sindhu with the score 21–18, 11–21, 22–20 in the final.

[9] In 2021, Zhang competed in her first Pan Am Championships and clinched the women's singles title after beating Rachel Chan of Canada in straight games.

Her bid for a medal was cut short, however, when she suffered an apparent achilles injury during a match against He Bingjiao of China in the round of 16.

She then took part in the Pan Am Championships in Jamaica, and won the women's singles silver medal.

She then won her first World Tour title in five years in the Australian Open in August, beating Kim Ga-eun in the final.

[12] In October, she claimed the gold medal in the women's singles in her debut at the Pan American Games.