Zheng Qinwen made history on Sunday by becoming the first Chinese woman to win the China Open, defeating fourth seed Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-4 in a gripping final in Beijing.
Entering the tournament as a wildcard ranked No. 54 in the world, Zheng produced one of the biggest results of her career in front of a passionate home crowd. The victory gave the 24-year-old her first WTA 1000 title, her sixth overall, and ended a two-year wait for a trophy.
Zheng collapsed to the court after converting match point, before celebrating with the Beijing crowd and even treating them to karaoke after her victory speech.
“The feeling was incredible. To win here in Beijing in front of my home crowd is one of my dreams,” she said.
“I’ve been through a very, very tough year.”
The triumph carries extra significance after Zheng underwent elbow surgery last year. Having struggled with form and fitness over the past 12 months, she has now returned to the winner’s circle at one of the WTA Tour’s biggest events.
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Andreeva made the stronger start in both sets, but Zheng repeatedly worked her way back into contention. The Russian led 2-0 in each set and moved 5-4 ahead in the opener, only for Zheng to save three set points and win the final 11 points to take the first set 7-5.
The second set remained finely poised at 4-4 before Zheng seized control as Andreeva’s errors mounted. A late double fault briefly gave the Russian hope, but Zheng responded with an ace to seal the championship.
“I felt like I just forgot how to compete after coming back from injury,” she told reporters.
“Finally, after so many losses, I [found] my fire again.”
The result is Zheng’s 14th win against a top-10 opponent and her third this season. She is set to climb 31 places to No. 23 when the rankings are updated on Monday, while Andreeva is expected to rise to No. 3 despite the loss.
Zheng is scheduled to compete at the Wuhan Open on Tuesday, where she will aim to carry her renewed momentum into the next stage of the Asian swing.
“I’m so hungry, honestly, for what’s going to come next,” Zheng said.
“I just want to give everything.”
