On the final day of the October National Day holiday, Zheng Qinwen turned 23. As a tennis player born on October 8, 2002, in Shiyan, Hubei Province, her post-2000s age does not conceal the many achievements she has already accomplished.
Zheng Qinwen displayed remarkable athletic ability at just six years old. Attracted by tennis, she started playing early, with strength and speed that set her apart from others her age.
A few years later, at her father’s strong encouragement, Zheng entered the IMG Academy’s open tournament for young tennis players worldwide. Thanks to her outstanding performance in this event, she signed with IMG and began her professional tennis career at the age of 11.
In 2020, Zheng Qinwen began to make her mark on the adult circuit. By winning three tournaments—W15 Coldronds, W25 Marbella in Spain, and W25 Frýdek-Místek in the Czech Republic—she broke into the world’s top 300 rankings for the first time that year.
In 2021, Zheng continued to progress. Besides excelling in ITF events, she also delivered excellent results representing Hubei at the 14th National Games held in China.
The 2022 season marked Zheng Qinwen’s biggest breakthrough when she won the WTA 125 Valencia title. She consecutively defeated players like Garcia, Diaz, and Wang Xiyu to claim her highest-level singles championship. After reaching a career-high ranking of 46, she naturally became China’s new top female player, all before turning 20.
At the same time, Zheng’s performance on the Grand Slam stage was far from that of a newcomer. She won her debut match at the French Open and went on to beat Zanevska, Halep, and Cornet to reach the fourth round.
In 2023, Zheng Qinwen captured her first WTA Tour singles title at the WTA 250 Palermo event, defeating Boulter in the final. Later that year, at the WTA 500 Zhengzhou tournament, she reached the final again and defeated Grand Slam champion Krejcikova to claim her second career title.
The year 2024 has undoubtedly been the brightest in Zheng’s career so far. She won singles titles in Palermo, the Paris Olympics, and Tokyo, while also finishing runner-up at the Australian Open, Wuhan Open, and WTA Finals. Her outstanding performance representing China at the Paris Olympics instantly made her one of the country’s hottest sports stars.
However, entering the 2025 season, after reaching the French Open quarterfinals and setting her personal best at that event, Zheng showed few notable results. A right elbow surgery after Wimbledon forced her to pause her progress.
During the China season, although Zheng earned her first comeback win at the China Open, she soon withdrew from the Wuhan and Ningbo tournaments due to injury pain, causing her world ranking to drop out of the top ten.
Regardless, the future remains very promising for 23-year-old Zheng Qinwen. Do you think she can become a Grand Slam champion?(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Barbie)