Zheng Qinwen (born 8 October 2002) is a Chinese professional tennis player. She has been ranked world No. 4 by the WTA, achieved in June 2025, and is only the second Chinese player to reach the top 5 in women's singles after Li Na. Zheng has won five career singles titles, including the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, becoming the first Asian tennis player to win an Olympic gold medal in singles.
Zheng made her WTA Tour main draw debut in 2021. In 2022, she reached the fourth round at the French Open, defeating No. 19 Simona Halep, and reached her first WTA Tour final at the Pan Pacific Open. In 2023, she won her first WTA Tour singles title at the Palermo Ladies Open, reached her first career Grand Slam quarterfinal at the US Open, and reached final at the WTA Elite Trophy. In 2024, she reached her first Grand Slam final at the Australian Open, won the gold medal in women's singles at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and competed in her first WTA Finals, losing to Coco Gauff in the final.
Early life and junior years Zheng was born in Shiyan, Hubei, on 8 October 2002. Her parents encouraged her to try several sports during her childhood, including table tennis, before she began playing tennis at the age of seven. At the age of eight, she left her parents and moved to Wuhan to receive more advanced coaching. Her mother initially visited her on weekends and later left her job to support her training full-time. During her formative years, Zheng trained at an academy in Beijing under Carlos Rodríguez, who had previously coached Justine Henin and Li Na. Zheng turned professional in 2018 while continuing to compete on the junior circuit. In December 2018, she reached the girls' singles final of the Orange Bowl, where she lost to Coco Gauff in three sets. In 2019, she reached the girls' singles semifinals at both the French Open and the US Open, and achieved a career-high ITF junior ranking of world No. 6. In late 2019, Zheng moved to Spain to continue her development and established a training base in Barcelona. She began working with Spanish coach Pere Riba in 2021.
Career 2021: WTA Tour debut In January 2021, Zheng won the Tennis Future Hamburg, Germany where she defeated Linda Fruhvirtová in the final of the 25k event, held at the venue of the Hamburger Tennis-Verband. On 20 June 2021, she won the final of the 60k Macha Lake Open in Staré Splavy defeating Aleksandra Krunić in two sets. Zheng made her WTA Tour debut at the Palermo Ladies Open, where she defeated second seed Liudmila Samsonova in the first round, before losing her next match to Jaqueline Cristian.
2022: French Open fourth round, WTA 500 final, top 30 Ranked No. 126, Zheng entered the Melbourne Summer Set 1 after qualifying. She beat Mai Hontama, Vera Zvonareva, and Ana Konjuh to make her first WTA Tour semifinal, but lost to No. 20 Simona Halep, in straight sets. Zheng debuted at the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament at the Australian Open after qualifying. She defeated Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the first round, but lost in the second round to No. 8 Maria Sakkari. As a result, Zheng broke into the top 100 for the first time.
At the French Open, Zheng defeated Maryna Zanevska in the first round. In the second round, she came back from a set and a break down to upset No. 19 Simona Halep for her first top-20 win. She moved into the fourth round after Alizé Cornet retired while trailing by a set. She lost in the fourth round to world No. 1 and eventual champion Iga Świątek in three sets. She was the only player to win a set against Świątek in the tournament. As a result, Zheng moved to a new career-high of No. 54. She broke into the top 50 a week later after winning her first WTA 125 title at the Open Internacional de Valencia, defeating compatriot Wang Xiyu.
At the Wimbledon Championships, Zheng defeated Sloane Stephens and Greet Minnen to reach the third round, where she fell to No. 23 and eventual champion Elena Rybakina in straight sets.
At the Canadian Open, Zheng defeated wildcard entrant Rebecca Marino in the first round. She advanced to the third round after No. 5 Ons Jabeur retired while trailing by a set. She overcame Bianca Andreescu to advance to her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal, where she lost to No. 14 Karolína Plíšková, in three sets. At the US Open, she defeated No. 16 Jeļena Ostapenko and Anastasia Potapova before losing to Jule Niemeier.
At the Pan Pacific Open, Zheng defeated Misaki Doi, No. 4 Paula Badosa, Claire Liu and No. 13 Veronika Kudermetova to reach her first WTA Tour final. She lost in the final to Liudmila Samsonova in straight sets. Despite the loss, Zheng reached a new career-high ranking of No. 28, becoming the first Chinese teenager to break into the top 30. Entering the San Diego Open as a lucky loser, she advanced to the second round as No. 13 Garbiñe Muguruza retired. She lost in the second round to world No. 1 and eventual champion Iga Świątek in three sets. Zheng was named WTA Newcomer of the Year.
2023: US Open quarterfinal, WTA 500 title, top 20 Zheng began the season at the Adelaide International. She defeated No. 17 Anett Kontaveit before losing to Victoria Azarenka. At the Australian Open, she beat Dalma Gálfi before losing to Bernarda Pera.
At the Abu Dhabi Open, Zheng defeated qualifier Rebecca Marino, No. 12 Jeļena Ostapenko, and No. 8 Daria Kasatkina, without dropping a set, to reach the semifinals. She lost in the semifinals to No. 19 Liudmila Samsonova in straight sets.
At the Stuttgart Open, Zheng defeated lucky loser Alycia Parks before losing to world No. 1, Iga Świątek, in straight sets. At the Madrid Open, she defeated Caty McNally before losing to No. 17, Ekaterina Alexandrova, in three sets. At the Italian Open, Zheng defeated Alizé Cornet, qualifier Anna Bondár, and compatriot Wang Xiyu to reach her second WTA 1000 quarterfinal. She then lost to No. 12 Veronika Kudermetova, in three sets. As a result, Zheng reached No. 19 in the WTA rankings, becoming the fifth Chinese player to break into the top 20. At the French Open, she beat qualifier Tamara Zidanšek before losing to Yulia Putintseva.
At Wimbledon, Zheng lost in the first round to Kateřina Siniaková.
Zheng received a wildcard into the Palermo Ladies Open. She double bagelled Sara Errani, then beat Diane Parry, Emma Navarro and Mayar Sherif to reach her second WTA Tour final. She beat Jasmine Paolini in three sets to win her first WTA Tour title.
At the Canadian Open, Zheng defeated Marta Kostyuk before losing to No. 18 Liudmila Samsonova in straight sets. At the Cincinnati Open, she defeated qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich and wildcard entrant Venus Williams before losing to world No. 1, Iga Świątek, in three sets. At the US Open, Zheng defeated Nadia Podoroska, Kaia Kanepi, Lucia Bronzetti, and No. 5 Ons Jabeur to advance to her first major quarterfinal, where she lost to world No. 2, Aryna Sabalenka, in straight sets.
Zheng won gold in singles at the Asian Games. At the China Open, she lost in the first round to world No. 5, Elena Rybakina, in straight sets. At the Zhengzhou Open, Zheng defeated qualifier Kateryna Volodko, No. 6 Maria Sakkari, Anhelina Kalinina, and Jasmine Paolini, without dropping a set, to reach the final. She defeated world No. 18, Barbora Krejčíková, in the final in three sets to win her second career title. Zheng made her debut at the WTA Elite Trophy. She defeated Donna Vekić and Jeļena Ostapenko in the round-robin stage. She beat compatriot Zhu Lin in the semifinals but lost in the final to Beatriz Haddad Maia, in straight sets. Zheng was named WTA Most Improved Player.
2024: Australian Open final, Olympic champion, top 5 Zheng made her debut at the United Cup as China's No. 1 player. She defeated Markéta Vondroušová and Olga Danilović before losing to Iga Świątek in straight sets. At the Australian Open, Zheng eliminated Ashlyn Krueger, Katie Boulter, compatriot Wang Yafan, and Océane Dodin to reach her second consecutive major quarterfinal. She defeated Anna Kalinskaya to reach her first major semifinal, and beat qualifier Dayana Yastremska to reach her first major final. She lost in the final to world No. 2, Aryna Sabalenka, in straight sets. As a result, Zheng made her top 10 debut following the tournament, at No. 7. She became the second Chinese player to be ranked inside the top 10 following Li Na.
At the Qatar Ladies Open, Zheng defeated Magda Linette before losing to Leylah Fernandez. At the Dubai Championships, Zheng beat qualifier Nao Hibino and Anastasia Potapova to reach the quarterfinals, where she lost to world No. 1, Iga Świątek, in straight sets.
At the Italian Open, Zheng defeated Shelby Rogers, No. 29 Linda Nosková, and Naomi Osaka to reach the quarterfinals, where she lost to No. 3 Coco Gauff in straight sets. At the French Open, she defeated wildcard entrant Alizé Cornet and Tamara Korpatsch before losing to Elina Avanesyan.
At Wimbledon, Zheng lost in the first round to qualifier Lulu Sun.
Zheng defended her title at Palermo in July. She defeated Sara Errani, Petra Martić, Jaqueline Cristian, and Diane Parry to reach the final, without dropping a set. In the final, she defeated Karolína Muchová in three sets. Seeded sixth at the Paris Olympics, Zheng defeated Sara Errani, Arantxa Rus, world No. 15 Emma Navarro, and Angelique Kerber to reach the semifinals. In the semifinals, she upset top seed and four-time French Open winner Iga Świątek in straight sets, ending her 25-match winning streak at Roland Garros. She defeated world No. 21, Donna Vekić, in the final in straight sets to win the gold medal in women's singles, becoming the first Asian player to win Olympic gold in a singles event. This was also China's second-ever Olympic gold in tennis, and the first since the women's doubles in 2004.
At the US Open, Zheng defeated Amanda Anisimova, Erika Andreeva, Jule Niemeier, and No. 24 Donna Vekić to make her second consecutive US Open quarterfinal and second Grand Slam quarterfinal of the season. She lost in the quarterfinals to world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets.
At the China Open, Zheng defeated lucky loser Kamilla Rakhimova, Nadia Podoroska, Amanda Anisimova, and No. 22 Mirra Andreeva to advance to her first WTA 1000 semifinal. She lost in the semifinals to Karolína Muchová in straight sets. At the Wuhan Open, Zheng defeated wildcard entrant Jaqueline Cristian, Leylah Fernandez, No. 6 Jasmine Paolini, and compatriot Wang Xinyu to advance to her first WTA 1000 final. She lost in the final to world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in three sets. At the Pan Pacific Open, Zheng defeated Moyuka Uchijima, Leylah Fernandez, and No. 16 Diana Shnaider to reach the final. She overcame wildcard entrant Sofia Kenin in straight sets to claim her third title of the year and clinch a place at the WTA Finals for the first time in her career.
At the WTA Finals, Zheng lost her opening group match against Aryna Sabalenka but then defeated Elena Rybakina and Jasmine Paolini to reach the semifinals. She overcame Barbora Krejčíková in the semifinals in straight sets. She lost in the final to Coco Gauff in a match which went to a third-set tiebreak. Despite the defeat, Zheng reached a career-high ranking of world No. 5.
2025: French Open quarterfinal, elbow surgery At the Australian Open, Zheng defeated qualifier Anca Todoni before losing in the second round to Laura Siegemund. She then lost her opening matches at the Qatar Ladies Open to Ons Jabeur and at the Dubai Championships against Peyton Stearns.
At the Indian Wells, Zheng defeated Victoria Azarenka, Lulu Sun and No. 24 Marta Kostyuk, without dropping a set, to reach the quarterfinals. She lost in the quarterfinals to world No. 2 Iga Świątek in straight sets. At the Miami Open, Zheng overcame Lauren Davis, qualifier Taylor Townsend, and Ashlyn Krueger, without dropping a set, to reach the quarterfinals. She lost in the quarterfinals to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets.