Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen became the first Chinese player to win the China Open on Sunday, beating fourth-seeded Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-4 in front of a partisan crowd at Beijing's National Tennis Centre to claim her maiden WTA 1000 title.
A final of fine margins
The 24-year-old wild card and the 19-year-old Russian exchanged early breaks before world No. 5 Andreeva steadied to go 5-4 up in the opener. Zheng then saved three set points to level at 5-5, pounced on an error-prone Andreeva in the next game, and sealed the first set with an ace after winning every point from 5-5.
The second set stayed on serve until 4-4, with Andreeva saving three break points along the way, but Zheng broke in the ninth game and then held her nerve. A double fault briefly threatened the finish before she sent down an ace to convert her first match point.
Zheng finished with 24 winners to Andreeva's 16, offsetting a 38 per cent first-serve rate and 18 unforced errors. The final lasted just under two hours.
A remarkable comeback
The title is Zheng's first since Tokyo in October 2024, when she beat Sofia Kenin, and her biggest at tour level. She missed nearly six months with a right elbow injury that required surgery in 2025, at one point dropping as low as 122nd in the world, before returning in February 2026 and reaching the US Open quarter-finals through qualifying. She has now broken back into the top 30.
Tears filled her eyes as she fell to the court in celebration. "The feeling was incredible to win here in Beijing... in front of my home crowd is one of my dreams," she said at the trophy ceremony. "I've been through a very, very tough year." She congratulated Andreeva on her French Open title earlier this year before serenading the crowd with a song about chasing the "light of dreams."
Andreeva, despite the defeat, will climb to a career-high world No. 3 in the updated rankings. Both players move on to the Wuhan Open, which begins on October 12, with Zheng eyeing a return to the top 20 if she carries her Beijing momentum forward.
Sources: Reuters, NDTV Sports
A final of fine margins
The 24-year-old wild card and the 19-year-old Russian exchanged early breaks before world No. 5 Andreeva steadied to go 5-4 up in the opener. Zheng then saved three set points to level at 5-5, pounced on an error-prone Andreeva in the next game, and sealed the first set with an ace after winning every point from 5-5.
The second set stayed on serve until 4-4, with Andreeva saving three break points along the way, but Zheng broke in the ninth game and then held her nerve. A double fault briefly threatened the finish before she sent down an ace to convert her first match point.
Zheng finished with 24 winners to Andreeva's 16, offsetting a 38 per cent first-serve rate and 18 unforced errors. The final lasted just under two hours.
A remarkable comeback
The title is Zheng's first since Tokyo in October 2024, when she beat Sofia Kenin, and her biggest at tour level. She missed nearly six months with a right elbow injury that required surgery in 2025, at one point dropping as low as 122nd in the world, before returning in February 2026 and reaching the US Open quarter-finals through qualifying. She has now broken back into the top 30.
Tears filled her eyes as she fell to the court in celebration. "The feeling was incredible to win here in Beijing... in front of my home crowd is one of my dreams," she said at the trophy ceremony. "I've been through a very, very tough year." She congratulated Andreeva on her French Open title earlier this year before serenading the crowd with a song about chasing the "light of dreams."
Andreeva, despite the defeat, will climb to a career-high world No. 3 in the updated rankings. Both players move on to the Wuhan Open, which begins on October 12, with Zheng eyeing a return to the top 20 if she carries her Beijing momentum forward.
Sources: Reuters, NDTV Sports
