Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen won her first title in two years, beating French Open champion Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-4 in the China Open final in Beijing on Sunday.
Zheng clinched the title with her first match point, serving an ace to Andreeva’s backhand side. She then fell to the court, sobbing with emotion.
A difficult road back
An elbow injury sent Zheng’s ranking tumbling from a career-high No. 4 last year to No. 160 this season. She entered her home tournament as a wild card ranked No. 54. Her victory means she will return to the top 30, the WTA said.
“I’ve been through a very tough year,” Zheng said in English during the trophy presentation, which had a touch of karaoke. She then sang a pop song, drawing roars of appreciation from the fans in the arena.
Strong form returns
Zheng enjoyed a stellar 2024. She reached the final of the Australian Open, won the singles title at the Paris Olympics on the clay of Roland Garros, and in October claimed her fifth career WTA title in Japan.
As a qualifier at the US Open in August, she showed her old form was back by reaching the quarter-finals. She twice rallied from 5-0 down to win matches against Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek.
Andreeva’s near miss
Despite the defeat, Andreeva is set to rise to a career-high No. 3 in the rankings. On Sunday she held three set points in the first set, leading 5-4, but Zheng then reeled off 11 straight points to take the set.
“For sure today she played great,” Andreeva said of Zheng. “It’s also very nice to see her playing better and coming back.”