Zheng Qinwen has slipped to 11th in the world rankings, facing uncertain US Open qualification amid lingering injuries and overloaded post-Olympic schedules.
Zheng Qinwen’s latest world ranking has slipped to No. 11.
She has not competed in any official tournaments over the past three weeks, having withdrawn from both the China Open and the Tokyo Open. With only 21 days remaining until the start of the U.S. Open, it remains uncertain whether she will qualify for the tournament.
Many fans still remember Zheng Qinwen standing atop the highest step of the podium to claim the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics,finishing the year ranked fifth in the world and leaving a host of top players in her wake. At the time, her fearless and tenacious spirit on the court left a lasting impression—yet who could have imagined that just half a year later, she would be worrying about securing a spot in the US Open.
Starting with the 2025 clay-court season, Zheng Qinwen’s right shoulder injury gradually became apparent; her serve speed dropped by 10 kilometers per hour compared to before. At both the French Open and Wimbledon, she was forced to take medical timeouts due to the injury and barely managed to finish her matches.Subsequently, she experienced discomfort in her back and wrist, and recently, her name has appeared on the withdrawal list with increasing frequency.In the months following her Olympic gold medal win, her schedule was extremely packed. Her team was unable to flexibly adjust her schedule based on her physical condition, as other top players’ teams can, and her off-season was also filled with commercial engagements. Her body had long been showing signs of exhaustion, yet she never received the timely rest and recovery she needed.
On the day she was eliminated from
Wimbledon, Zheng Qinwen nearly dropped her racket as she left the court. Over the
next three weeks, while players her age competed in three consecutive ranking tournaments to earn points, the only sound in her training hall was the ball machine moving back and forth across the empty court.Zheng Qinwen’s ranking has
now fallen outside the safe qualifying range for the Year-End Championships. If she fails to achieve a satisfactory result at the U.S. Open, she is very likely to face a top-three player in the first round of the 2027 Australian Open.
The injuries
athletes face during their careers, the pressure of a grueling schedule, and physical exhaustion are, in fact, real challenges that anyone striving to succeed in their career must confront.
From Zheng Qinwen’s perspective, the top priority right now is whether to push through and compete at the US Open to maintain her current ranking, or to take a step back and focus on fully recovering from her injury.
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