Qinwen Zheng has just won arguably the biggest title of her career, as she secured a first-ever WTA 1000 triumph, and in her home country no less.
Winning an event of this magnitude anywhere in the world is special, but to do it in Beijing, in front of a devout and passionate support, must have felt incredible.
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For her, it marks just the latest in a long line of impressive accomplishments already achieved in her young career.
In 2024, she reached the Australian Open final. Later that year, she shocked the world by winning gold at the Paris Olympics.
Speaking at her press conference after this China Open triumph, Qinwen Zheng has now compared the two.
Qinwen Zheng compares her Olympic gold medal to winning the China Open
She began by admitting that the nerves in both finals were ‘quite similar’, and the fact that she wanted to throw up before each match ‘just shows how much I want to win’.
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She continued: “In one way, it is good, but in another way also I want to win so much that I can’t relax.
“Everybody asking me, they told me I already made history to reach the finals. I don’t want to just stop in the final; I want to become a champion. Like this, if somebody wants to make a new history, they need to arrive at least to champion, not to finals.
“It’s like I’m also competing with myself before. I felt like this win today, the crowd also they are supporting me a lot, because I’m always motivated here in China Open; I want to show off my best tennis in front of them.”
Zheng has been a shining light for Chinese tennis for years now, and is widely considered the greatest export from her country since Li Na.
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Asked how it feels to have inspired a new generation of tennis fans in her home country, she added: “Well, I always knew how much I can inspire people after winning the 2024 Olympic gold medal.
“After that, in 2025, I had those big flip, big surgery in my elbow, which is not easy. When I was at the lowest moment, everyone was saying, like, I couldn’t come back. Everyone had doubts about me. Also, my friends keep asking me what happened during this period of time. I couldn’t answer because I felt like I just forgot how to compete after coming back from injury.
“Finally after through many losses, I find my fire again when I’m playing the competition match. Like I always said, tennis is not just about hitting the balls, it’s also about how much you want to win.
Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
“I am just so grateful that I found the inside fire back. Right now I’m trying to reach the best version of myself.”
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Zheng has since withdrawn from the Wuhan Open, likely as a precautionary measure to rest her body after a gruelling week.
Having suffered such horrific injury turmoil in recent years, it’s so good to see her back fit and firing again. Hopefully, this is just the start, with Zheng having enjoyed a huge rankings jump off the back of this China Open title too.
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