Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen is being celebrated like a superstar this week at the Beijing tournament, where the Chinese public is not shying away from their pleasure at seeing her play in the country for the first time since her feat in Paris and are hoping she will win the first WTA 1000 of his career.
The atmosphere is so “crazy” around the center court that the young 21-year-old player herself admitted to having been a little “shaken”, after her quick victory in the second round over the Russian Kamilla Rakhimova (N.71) 6 -1, 6-1.
“We admire her for what she does for the country,” comments Michelle Zhang, a fan in Beijing, whose two children play tennis. “She showed people that Chinese people could play tennis,” agrees Adele Xue, a friend.
In addition to his Olympic gold medal, the first won by China in singles, Zheng Qinweng (pronounced “Djeng-Tsine-Ouène”) currently has only three minor titles on the circuit: two in Palermo (2023, 2024) and one in Zhengzhou (2024).
It was at the start of the season at the Australian Open that she revealed herself to the general international public by reaching the final in Melbourne where she lost 6-3, 6-2 to Aryna Sabalenka.
– Heiress of Li Na –
The Belarusian beat her again (6-1, 6-2) three weeks ago in the quarter-finals of the US Open but fans of “Queen Wen” hope that the tide will turn thanks to their support during possible reunion in the semi-finals in a few days in Beijing. In the meantime, she will first have to beat Argentina’s Nadia Podoroska in the 3rd round.
For two seasons, Zheng, 7th in the world, her best ranking to date, has established herself as the undisputed N.1 of Chinese tennis, which has five other players in the top 100, but all above 40th place. .
She is seen as the heir to Li Na, the only one so far to have won a Grand Slam tournament, at Roland-Garros in 2011 and in Australia in 2014. From 2014, Zheng, then aged 11 , boldly declared in a television interview that she wanted to “play Grand Slam tournaments and fight for titles”, after witnessing her compatriot’s triumph on the small screen.
Born in Shiyan, Hubei (central China), Zheng now trains in Barcelona under coach Pere Riba. In his childhood, his family had moved to the provincial capital Wuhan, Li’s hometown, to provide him with better training conditions. She will return to this metropolis from October 7 to 13 to play the WTA tournament.
Gifted for several sports, Zheng decided on tennis very early after attending the Beijing Games in 2008, when she was not yet six years old.
– Family sacrifices –
Her father Zheng Jianping, who practiced athletics, and her mother Deng Fang made enormous efforts to finance her career, notably by selling the family home, as she revealed in Paris after her coronation.
Today, Zheng Qinwen has already amassed more than five million dollars in prize money on the circuit and her immense popularity – she has appeared on the covers of GQ and Harper’s Bazaar magazines – has also earned her numerous advertising contracts with major global brands.
“One of the great qualities of this girl is that she never gives up,” assures Yu Liqiao, her former coach, witness to the “tennismania” which is sweeping China.
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