Paris 2024 Olympics gold medalist Zheng Qinwen won her maiden WTA 1000 title.
Celebrating a monumental milestone on home courts with an on-court karaoke session was something only Zheng Qinwen could pull off. It was just pure joy.
This party had a serious message too – the 24-year-old has her “fire back” and the WTA Tour better watch out.
What happened? Well, the former world No.4 made history on Sunday, prevailing past Roland-Garros champion Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-4, to become the first Chinese woman to win the Beijing WTA 1000 title.
This was the Australian Open 2024 runner-up’s maiden WTA 1000 crown and a sixth WTA title.
"Honestly after winning this title, I felt like finally I once again become the one who is making new history," said Zheng, who last lifted a WTA trophy in Tokyo 2024. "I always wanted to kind of beat myself because everyone was asking me how great you achieve in 2024. I always say that the best is come in the future.”
Rewind to RG 2025 and Zheng competed as the world No.7 en route to the quarter-finals, she was a major contender as a finalist in Melbourne in January 2024.
However, last July, Zheng announced she had undergone right elbow surgery. Just two months later and she competed in Beijing, retiring from her third-round tussle facing Linda Noskova with a right elbow issue. The rehab wasn’t sufficient and Zheng remained on the sidelines for a further five months until this February.
Since then, the top tier performances and results had been rare, she even fell outside the Top 100, until hitting the Big Apple. At the US Open, the 24-year-old rallied from qualifying all the way into the quarter-finals where eventual champion Elena Rybakina escaped 6-4 in the third.
Combining the NYC and Beijing heroics, she has catapulted back into the Top 30 on Monday as world No.23.
There has clearly been some soul-searching for the former world No.4.
"When I was at the lowest moment, everyone was saying I couldn't come back," said Zheng. "Everyone had doubts about me. Finally, after many losses, I was able to find my fire again when I'm playing matches. Like I always said, tennis is not just about hitting the balls, it's also about how much you want to win. I am just so grateful that I found the inside fire back. Right now, I'm trying to reach the best version of myself."
World No.1 Rybakina and world No.2 Aryna Sabalenka suffered early exits in Beijing. There were openings in the draw and Zheng battled her way into the latter stages with four gruelling opening matches going the distance.
Into the quarter-finals, the Chinese superstar overcame No.6 seed Elina Svitolina 6-3, 7-6(6) and then No.13 seed Elise Mertens 7-5, 6-2 for a trophy showdown ticket.
That “fire” and much more was required for Zheng to leave Beijing as the champion.
"Every match had different difficult points. There were different moments of toughness. When I was battling my opponents, I was also battling myself," admitted the world No.23.
"The desire of winning internally, I was battling the internal weaknesses of myself. I need to be aggressive, but also need to control my errors. At critical moments, I cannot be soft. This is something I really need to find solution for for a long time. I'm really happy I did that."
At this rate Zheng will be launching back into the Top 10. What does the Chinese woman see as progress?
"I can't give exactly number how close I am to the best version of myself," she claimed. "But it is true, I achieved something that I never achieved before when I was at my 21 years old. I was Olympic gold medallist, that's amazing, but still there's lot of things I have never achieved yet.
"I want to achieve all of them, like these people cannot say anything to me after that. I'm really happy I made the first steps. For me there's still more to come. I'm so hungry honestly for what's going to come in the next of my career because I know my potential, and I don't want to have a regret the day that I retire from tennis. I just want to give everything that I have in the tennis career."
ROLAND-GARROS
17 May - 6 June 2027
