By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK, Sept 7 (Reuters) – Zheng Qinwen rode a roller coaster ride of highs and lows into the U.S. Open quarter-finals on Monday, upsetting major winners Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek in back-to-back matches in the start of an epic career comeback.
China’s Zheng had everything working in her favour two years ago, with the Olympic gold around her neck, a maiden major final at the Australian Open and a spot in the top 10.
But a chronic elbow injury brought her progress to a screeching halt, as she bounced out of Wimbledon in the first round in 2025 before undergoing surgery.
After a grim 2026 season littered with early exits, including first-round defeats at the French Open and the All England Club, she tumbled to 121st in the rankings and was forced to go through qualifying in New York.
“Psychologically, it is very difficult to accept. I mean, I used to be top 10, Olympic champion. I play in the big stadiums since the beginning,” said Zheng.
“I know people have a lot of doubt about me, and it’s just really hard for me. I just need to keep positive every single day, telling myself, ‘Just keep working, and let’s see when the result gonna happen’.
“It is a really, really tough process. I suffered a lot, and I have been through a lot of pain every single losses I have. But I think at the end, sport, you just needs to stay humble and keep fighting, because once you lost that, the result really shows everything.”
The power of her positive thinking has been on full display in New York.
She overcame a 0-5 deficit in the decisive set against 2017 finalist Keys in the third round, and she slew another dragon in Swiatek in the fourth, overcoming a 0-5 deficit in the opening set.
She credited the turnaround in form, in part to a last-minute training block she and her coach squeezed in after another dreadful pre-tournament defeat in the first round of qualifying in Toronto.
“My coach sat down with me and we had a long talk together. He told me, ‘You can’t continue playing like this. You need to have a training block’,” said Zheng.
“It was really tough, but this is how sport shows. If you don’t work hard, you don’t have it. So I’m really happy about we make together the work, and then at the end, the effort pays off.”
Zheng will play second seed Elena Rybakina next.
“I’m just really happy to be back again,” she told reporters. “I mean, if that’s what God gives to me, all the losses before, I’m sure that he will give me something back, no?”
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New YorkEditing by Christian Radnedge)
