Birthday Girl Zheng Qinwen Embracing Her New Era

At 20 years old, Zheng Qinwen introduced herself to the global tennis world, reaching the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time at the U.S. Open.

At 21, Zheng’s stardom reached another level, especially in her native China. She reached the Australian Open final and won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, establishing herself as one of the sport’s biggest young stars.

At 23, she reached No. 4 in the WTA world rankings.

Now, having just turned 24 on Thursday, Zheng is ready to begin a new era, one that is firmly focused only on what is ahead. 

"I would say I'm trying to be better than the old version of myself," Zheng said after her three-set win over Alina Charaeva. "I'm trying to upgrade, to discover a new version.

"'Cause like I always said, okay, I did really good stuff when I was 21 years old, but that wasn't my highest performance. I felt like inside me there's still so much more that I could do it.

"I'm trying to find out if I can do it much better when age passes, when I become more mature. Also mentally I'm more stable than I used to be before. I used to be very emotion at a young age.”

Zheng's progress from a promising teenage talent to one of the sport's global icons is a story of endurance. Not in the classical sporting use of the word, a synonym for stamina and longevity, but of, well, actually enduring. 

It has not been a smooth road to glory for Zheng, but her self-belief and ambition has fueled her resilience. After reaching the pinnacle of her career with an Australian Open final and Olympic gold medal at the Paris Olympics in 2024, Zheng underwent elbow surgery in 2025. Aside from an appearance at the China Open last fall, Zheng was effectively sidelined for six months. She watched her ranking plummet as low as No. 160 in June.

"Psychologically, it is very difficult to accept," Zheng said in New York. "I mean, I used to be Top 10, Olympic champion. I play in the big stadiums since the beginning.

"Right now my ranking drop so much after injury, I couldn't perform well the last three, four months. I know people has lot of doubt about me, and it's just really hard for me.

"I just needs to keep positive every single day, telling myself, Just keep working, and let's see when the result gonna happen."

Then began the resurgence that has carried her back into the Top 50. With her ranking relegating her to having to qualify for the US Open, she earned her main-draw spot outright and reached the quarterfinals of the US Open, besting Grand Slam champions Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek along the way. 

Playing qualifying was a tough pill to swallow for the former World No. 4. But Zheng has never shied away from the work and the effort needed to be among the best. So swallowed her pride and went to work. 

"I have a lot of emotions when I'm playing the quallie match," Zheng said in New York. "I was even crying after I won the third match [to] reach the main the draw. 

"Main draw is just the beginning where all the players start. Also, that's [was] my beginning before.

"So I fight so hard just to start like everyone else. For me, that was really not easy.”

Now she is one victory away from matching her deepest run at the China Open, when she reached the semifinals in 2024.

Zheng is chasing her career-best result in a WTA 1000 tournament and with that score her best ever tournament finish in her homeland. Her previous best was a runner-up showing at her hometown tournament at Wuhan in 2024.

At this year's China Open, Zheng has had a tough road to the quarterfinals. Since the Tier format was introduced in 1990, Zheng is just the second player to win four three-set matches en route to a Tier I/WTA 1000 quarterfinal, joining Sara Sorribes Tormo, who accomplished the feat at the 2021 Miami Open.

Zheng defeated Shi Han 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-2 in the first round, Anna Kalinskaya 6-7 (4), 6-4, 3-0 (ret.) in the second, Marie Bouzkova 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-5 in the third and Alina Charaeva 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 in the Round of 16.

Once again, Zheng proved she's not one to shy away from adversity. Whether on the biggest courts of the world or the outside courts in qualifying, Zheng has learned to take nothing for granted. 

"It is a really, really tough process," Zheng said in New York. "I suffered a lot, and I have been through a lot of pain every single loss I have. 

"But I think at the end, sport, you just needs to stay humble and keep fighting, because once you lost that, the result really shows everything.

"I'm just really happy to be back again. I mean, if that's what God give to me, all the losses before, I'm sure that he will give me something back, no?"