by Qinwen Zheng’s remarkable season has allowed her to establish herself in the world’s top ten.
When Qinwen Zheng won Olympic gold in Paris earlier this year, she catapulted herself into Chinese superstardom.
Zheng was a losing finalist at the Australian Open this year and narrowly failed at the Wuhan Open earlier this month.
This combination of results has helped Zheng move to seventh in the WTA rankings, a career high for the 22-year-old.
Qinwen Zheng is the first Chinese athlete to cover Vogue China
Starring on the cover of Chinese Vogue’s November issue, Zheng broke even more new ground in a banner year.
With Chinese Vogue’s 34 million readership, Zheng’s exposure in the country will only increase as she quickly becomes a household name in China.
Given the dominance of Chinese athletes in international sports, particularly the Olympics, the fact that Zheng was the first to land on the cover of Chinese Vogue speaks to her personality and stature within the sport.
However, her personality has been criticized at times on the WTA Tour, particularly after Qinwen Zheng shouted at a lines umpire during the Wuhan Open final.
Could Qinwen Zheng win the WTA Finals?
The Chinese athlete has already qualified for this year’s WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia and will compete against the likes of Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina at the event.
Competing as an underdog should mean the pressure is off for Zheng, but given the results and performances she has achieved so far in 2024, there is no doubt that she can compete with the very best.
On his way to winning gold earlier this year, Qinwen Zheng knocked out heavy favorite Swiatek at the Paris Olympics.
But while Zheng did well against Swiatek, Sabalenka, another strong contender for the title, managed to defeat the 22-year-old in two of the biggest matches of Zheng’s young career so far, the Australian Open and the Wuhan Open final .
Zheng will return to action on Thursday at the Ningbo Open.
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