Zheng Qinwen accepts wildcard to play fourth straight China Open

China's Olympic hero Zheng Qinwen will make a celebrated return to the China Open. The 23-year-old has accepted a wild card to play the main draw of the prestigious WTA 1000 tournament, which begins on September 30.

Zheng's commitment to the China Open over the years has been unwavering. She is set to make her fourth consecutive appearance at the National Tennis Center, where she made the semifinals in 2024. Zheng underwent wrist surgery in 2025, and the only tournament she played between July 2025 and February 2026 was last year's China Open.

"I'm really happy and proud that I can be such a big influence for tennis in China," Zheng said last year, "because the more people know about tennis, the greater we're going to be in the future."

Zheng joins a blockbuster field that already included 19 of the world's Top 20 women, led by Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, 2024 champion Coco Gauff, and Jessica Pegula. Also set to return to the National Tennis Center are former China Open champions Iga Swiatek (2023) and Naomi Osaka (2019).

Reigning China Open champion Amanda Anisimova is also back to defend her title.

Founded in 2004, the China Open is Asia's largest and most prestigious tennis event, hosting the world's best on the ATP and WTA Tours for the largest prize purse in Asia. The women's event is a WTA 1000, one of 10 top-tier mandatory tournament for the WTA Tour.

The direct entry deadline for this year's tournament was based on a player's WTA ranking on August 31. Ranked No.121 at the time of the cut-off, Zheng missed out on direct entry, but responded with an incredible fortnight at the year's final Grand Slam, the US Open. Forced to play in the US Open pre-tournament qualifying event, she became just the second qualifier to ever make the US Open quarterfinals, and she did so in dramatic fashion.

Zheng overcame a 5-0 deficit in the final set to win seven consecutive games to defeat 2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys in the third round. She did it again one round later. Facing six-time champion Iga Swiatek, Zheng came back from a 5-0 deficit again to make her first Grand Slam quarterfinal since the 2024 Australian Open final.

Zheng's trademark resilience and competitive fire were on full display in New York, and boosted the fan favorite back inside the Top 100. It all sets up for a perfect return to Beijing.