On a surreal Saturday last December, Tai Tzu Ying began to rewrite a chapter in what was generally accepted as the evening of her career.

It is pertinent to wonder what would have happened had An Se Young converted her 19-10 and 20-16 leads over Tai in the semifinals of the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2023. That would have been Tai’s seventh straight defeat to the Korean; it would’ve indicated business as normal, with An at the top of the pecking order and Tai continuing to struggle against her nemesis.

As it turned out, however, Tai authored the greatest comeback win of her career, and in the wake of her title-winning journey – she beat Carolina Marin in another come-from-behind effort – she made two more finals, winning one, beating players who have troubled her in recent times. The last time she was in three (or more) straight finals was in COVID-affected 2021. Of the five finals she’d made in 2021, she’d won one.

Something’s different – it’s evident in her demeanour on court and off it. The most obvious change is her willingness to stay in the long rallies without losing her patience. While she is still inventive in shot-making, she’s more choosy about the percentages. She appears more driven – the fist-pumping, point-winning yells are not traits she’s associated with. And it’s remarkable that she still has the athleticism to last those gruelling battles against much younger opponents.

While she was never one to read too much into her results, she does appear to have a weight off her shoulders. As she sets off on the European leg of the run-up to the Olympic year – her final Olympics, by her own admission – she is in a space that was shrinking out of reach just a few months ago.

Ask her what has changed and she makes it sound mundane: “I don’t think too much, because I try to focus on every point and try to reduce unforced errors.”

Yet, she admits, she’s now more willing to bide her time, to wait for the right moment.

“I just tell myself, I have to be more patient, don’t try to hit too close to the lines. I’m happy with the way I’ve been playing.”

It’s an approach that her accomplished rival Chen Yu Fei has noticed.

“Tai is playing more patiently, she has improved on that, and I’m trying to learn from her,” Chen said after finishing runner-up to Tai at India Open 2024. Known for being a stable player, Chen was erratic throughout the final – “Tai was very fast and that put a lot of pressure on me”.

With her record at the French Open and All England – she’s been in seven finals at the two events, winning four – her campaign could give an indication of what else the maverick can unveil as the Olympics draws near.