Zheng Qinwen won her first title in two years by beating French Open champion Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-4 in the China Open final in Beijing on Sunday.
Zheng clinched the match with her first match point, serving an ace to Andreeva’s backhand side. She then fell to the court, sobbing with emotion.
A painful fall and a steady return
Zheng’s ranking had plummeted because of an elbow injury, dropping 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, and she will now return to the top 30, the WTA said.
“I’ve been through a very tough year,” Zheng said in English during a trophy presentation that had a touch of karaoke. She sang a pop song to roars of appreciation from the fans in the arena.
A stellar 2024 and a promising August
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 then took her fifth career WTA title in Japan in October.
As a qualifier at the US Open in August, Zheng showed her old form was back. She advanced to the quarter-finals after twice rallying from 5-0 deficits to win her matches against Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek.
Andreeva set for a career-high ranking
Despite the defeat, Andreeva is set to rise to a career-high No. 3 in the rankings. She held three set points in the first set on Sunday, leading 5-4, before Zheng 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.”