Chinese, Australian Open, Karaoke: Everything you always wanted to know about Zheng Qinwen (but never had time to find out) – updated after 2024 WTA Finals
The top-ranked Chinese player on the WTA Tour, Zheng Qinwen is the 2024 Paris Olympics champion. Here are answers to some common queries about her
Virginie Bouyer / Panoramic
Who is ZHENG Qinwen?
Zheng Qinwen is a professional tennis player from China who competes on the WTA Tour. She was born on October 8, 2022 and reached her first Grand Slam final at the Australian Open in 2024. She is also an Olympic champion, something else she achieved in 2024.
How did Zheng Qinwen fare at the 2024 WTA Finals?
After going down to Aryna Sabalenka in three sets in her first group match, Qinwen defeated Elena Rybakina and Jasmine Paolini in back-to-back matches to qualify for the semi-finals of the WTA Finals in Riyadh.
She then beat Czech Barbora Krejcikova in the last four, before falling to Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2) in an epic final.
what did zheng do at the 2024 Tokyo open?
Zheng entered the Tokyo Open field as the top seed and defeated American Sofia Kenin 7-6 (5), 6-3 in the final. This was notably her second WTA Tour-level title for 2024.
In the previous rounds, she overcame the likes of Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima (7-5, 6-0), No 8 seed Leylah Fernandez (6-0, 1-6, 6-3), and Russian Diana Shnaider (7-6 (5), 6-3).
what did zheng do at the 2024 wuhan open?
Zheng Qinwen lost to Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 in the 2024 Wuhan Open final.
The Chinese, seeded fifth, reached the title clash on the back of wins against Romanian Jaqueline Cristian, Canada’s Leylah Fernandez, No 3 seed Jasmine Paolini, and compatriot Xinyu Wang.
what did zheng achieve at the 2024 us open?
Zheng Qinwen reached the quarter-finals of the 2024 US Open. It was her second consecutive appearance in the last eight in New York, and ranks as her joint second-best Grand Slam result so far, having also reached the same stage in 2023 and reached the final of the Australian Open at the beginning of the year.
She lost to Aryna Sabalenka in a rematch of their clash in the 2024 Australian Open final clash, which the Belarusian also won.
What did Zheng accomplish at the 2024 Paris Olympics?
Zheng Qinwen won the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, beating Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-3 in the final, becoming the first Chinese player to win a gold medal in the Olympics.
Zheng had become the first Chinese player ever, male or female, to reach the singles final at the Olympic Games. The sixth seed defeated Germany’s Angelique Kerber 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 in a three-hour plus marathon to book her spot in the last four, before putting on a superb display to defeat world No 1 and heavy gold medal favourite, Iga Swiatek, in the semi-finals.
WhST DID Zheng DO AT THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN?
Zheng reached the final of the 2024 Australian Open – her maiden Grand Slam final.
Seeded No 12, Zheng defeated Ashlyn Krueger 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the first round, Katie Boulter 6-3, 6-3 in the second round, and countrywoman Yafan Wang 6-5, 2-6, 7-6 (10-8) in the third round to move into the last 16 at a Grand Slam for the third time in her career (2022 French Open fourth round and 2023 US Open quarter-finals).
She then beat Oceane Dodin 6-0, 6-3, Anna Kalinskaya 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-1 in the quarter-final, and Dayana Yastremska 6-4, 6-4 to secure her right to play Aryna Sabalenka for the title.
However, she could not get past the world No 2, losing 6-3, 6-2 in the final.
What did Zheng achieve at the 2024 Palermo Open?
Coming in as the reigning champion and top seed, Zheng defeated second-seeded Czech Karolina Muchova 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 to successfully defend a title for the first time on the tour. This was the third WTA singles title of her career.
What did ZHENG QINWEN achieve at the 2023 WTA Elite Trophy?
Zheng reached the final of the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai in 2023, making her the second Chinese player to do so. She went down to Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia 7-6, 7-6 in a marathon that lasted two hours and 52 minutes.
In an all-Chinese semi-final, Zheng defeated countrywoman Lin Zhu to reach the final. Zheng won 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 in three hours and 19 minutes. This was her eighth match in a row as she also won the WTA 500 in Zhengzhou, China earlier this month.
Which country is Zheng QINWEN from?
Zheng was born in Shiyan in the Hubei Province and represents China.
Was Zheng QINWEN a good junior?
Zheng peaked at No 6 in the junior world rankings in September 2019. She won five ITF junior titles, including the prestigious Eddie Herr International Championship in 2018.
In the majors, she reached the juniors semi-finals of the French Open and US Open in 2019.
who is zheng’s coach?
Zheng Qinwen was being coached by Wim Fissette for most of 2023, before he left to reunite with former charge Naomi Osaka shortly after the US Open.
In December 2023, Zheng announced that she had reunited with former coach Pere Riba. Zheng and Riba worked together for much of the last two years, including during Zheng’s breakthrough 2022 season in which she was named the WTA’s Newcomer of the Year, broke the Top 30, and reached her first WTA singles final in Tokyo. They split in June 2023, before joining forces again six months later.
How many titles has Zheng QINWEN won?
The Chinese player has won five WTA singles titles, her first two coming in 2023 and the third, fourth and fifth in 2024. Her first title came at the WTA 250 in Palermo in July on clay while her second on home soil – at the WTA 500 event in Zhengzhou. In 2024, she successfully defended her Palermo title.
Zheng has also won an Olympic gold medal, triumphing at the 2024 Paris Olympics, before clinching her fifth title in Tokyo in October.
What is Zheng’s highest ranking?
Zheng’s highest ranking is No 7, which she first achieved on January 29, 2024. You can find her latest ranking and her rankings history on her WTA Tour profile page.
What is her best performance at the Grand Slams?
Zheng’s best performance at the Majors has been reaching the final of the 2024 Australian Open, where she went down to Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets. Prior to this, Zheng reached the quarter-finals of the 2023 US Open.
Seeded 23rd, she beat Nadia Podoroska, Kaia Kanepi and Lucia Bronzetti to reach the last 16 for the first time in New York. Zheng then upset fifth seed and last year’s runner-up, Ons Jabeur, to advance to the quarters where she went down to Aryna Sabalenka.
In 2024, she returned to the quarter-finals of the US Open.
She also reached the fourth round at Roland-Garros in 2022, where she lost in three sets to world No 1 Iga Swiatek.
DOes Zheng like karaoke?
The Chinese player is a self-confessed fan of karaoke and likes to sing songs in English (her go-to song being the Eminem/ Rihanna classic ‘Love the way you lie’), Chinese and Spanish.
Zheng showed off some of her karaoke skills after winning the title in Zhengzhou in 2023.
How much prize money has she won in her career?
As of November 8, 2024, Zheng has won more than $6 million in career prize money. You can find her latest prize money stats on her WTA Tour profile page.
Is Zheng on social media?
The Chinese player is active on Instagram, where she has more than 362,000 followers as of November 8, 2024.
