On August 28, China’s rising tennis star Zheng Qinwen, affectionately dubbed “Queen Wen” by her fans, defeated world number 75 Erika Andreeva 2-1 in the second round of the US Open in New York. With this victory, Zheng advances to the third round, where she will face Germany’s Jule Niemeier later this week.

Five years ago, Zheng Qinwen was a teenager unknown to the public. Now, she is a tennis star with a promising career and one of the candidates most likely to win this year’s US Open. Her path to fame started in 2020, when she quickly garnered attention and popularity after securing victories in major tournaments around the world. Zheng’s most notable achievement in this period was the three consecutive ITF (International Tennis Federation) titles she won in August and September that year.

By the end of 2021 she had risen to 126th-ranked in the world, a huge jump from 630th, her ranking a year earlier. Then, in 2022, she was named the WTA Newcomer of the Year. In 2023, she defeated the current world fifth-seeded Jasmine Paolini of Italy at the 2023 Palermo Ladies Open. Zheng achieved global fame this year after taking second place at the Australian Open in Melbourne and a gold medal at last month’s Paris Olympics. 

Zheng’s recent successes have landed her major sponsorship deals, and generated excitement in China around tennis, a sport that generally attracts less young people in the country than other racket sports such as table tennis and badminton. Currently ranked seventh in the world, Zheng is the second Chinese player to reach the top ten after Li Na, who won two Grand Slam singles titles — namely at the 2011 French Open and 2014 Australian Open. Nevertheless, no Chinese national has yet claimed victory at the US Open. 

With a bit of luck against a talented opponent, Zheng might just ride the Olympic gold medal high to the final of this year’s US Open.

Banner image via Xinhua.