Zheng Qinwen beat Mirra Andreeva in straight sets to win the China Open, her first title in two years, and celebrated by singing to the crowd. A day later the Olympic champion withdrew from the Wuhan Open with a shoulder injury.
Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen won the China Open in Beijing on Sunday, October 11, beating Mirra Andreeva in the final, ESPN reported.
It was her first title in two years.
The Final
- Score: 7-5, 6-4
- Match point: an ace, on her first opportunity
- Turning point: Andreeva held three set points at 5-4 in the first set; Zheng then won 11 points in a row
Zheng fell to the court in tears after the final point.
“I’ve been through a very tough year,” she said at the trophy presentation, in English. She then sang a pop song for the crowd, to loud applause.
A Long Way Back
Zheng reached a career-high ranking of number four last year. An elbow injury then sent her tumbling to 160th this season.
She was ranked 54th and needed a wild card to enter her home tournament. The win returns her to the top 30, the WTA said.
There had been signs of recovery. As a qualifier at the US Open in August she reached the quarter-finals, twice coming back from 5-0 down in matches she won against Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek.
Her best year remains 2024, when she reached the Australian Open final and won the Olympic singles title in Paris.
Andreeva’s Consolation
Despite the defeat, Andreeva, the French Open champion, rises to a career-high world number three.
“For sure today she played great,” she said of Zheng. “It’s also very nice to see her playing better and coming back.”
Out of Wuhan
On Monday, Zheng withdrew from the Wuhan Open, citing a shoulder injury.
“I have played a demanding stretch of tennis over the past month and a half, competing at the U.S. Open, the Billie Jean King Cup, and the China Open. My body is feeling very fatigued,” she said in a statement.
Andreeva also withdrew, citing a change of schedule. Anna Bondar and Camila Osorio took their places in the draw.
Image: Zheng Qinwen at the 2024 Paris Olympics (file photo). Photo: Kuberzog / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
