Australian Open: 5 things you need to know about Zheng Qinwen, the Chinese tennis star too shy to speak to Rafael Nadal
- Zheng Qinwen, China’s 19-year-old tennis star picked up her first grand slam win on Monday, defeating Aliaksandra Sasnovich in dramatic fashion
- The Chinese teen, who counts Roger Federer as her inspiration, admits she is still too shy to speak to Rafael Nadal
Zheng Qinwen picked up her first grand slam win in dramatic fashion on Monday, edging out a grinding 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 win over Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
The surging 19-year-old is making her Australian Open debut and despite some early errors, managed to dig deep and rebound to clinch her first win. The No 111-ranked player now moves ahead to face Maria Sakkari in the second round and seems on track to meet her own ambitious targets of breaking the top 30 in 2022.
After such a big win, we thought it was time to learn more about Zheng and what makes her tick. So here are five fun facts you might not already know.
1. Zheng played many sports before settling on tennis
Zheng’s parents wanted to keep her active as a child and encouraged her to play sports. She started with table tennis but quickly looked for other options.
“I was fat as a kid and I would get sick often,” Zheng told WTA Insider. “So my parents told me to play sports and choose one. I tried badminton, I tried basketball, and I tried tennis.
“I chose tennis because I really liked the competition, especially the feeling of beating the opponent. Of course when you lose you feel so sad, you feel so down, you feel the world is broken for you. But the competition is what I love most about tennis.”
2. She trains in Spain with a former ATP player
Zheng, coached by Pere Riba Madrid and trains in Barcelona, credits her improvement over the last year to footwork and tactics.
“I see the game more clearly. A lot of people told me I’m hitting hard, but I just hit for power. My coach put a lot of strategy in my mind, being consistent, being solid, and if you want to hit hard OK, but choose the right ball. He put a lot of knowledge in my head and that made me get better and helps me win these difficult matches.”
3. Zheng is part of a trio of surging Chinese youngsters
Along with No 101 Wang Xinyu and No 131 Wang Xiyu, both aged 20, Zheng rounds out China’s next trio of potential stars. Xiyu was the 2018 US Open junior girls’ champion, while Xinyu was the first of the three to break the Top 100, topping out at No 99.
4. She is too shy to speak to Rafael Nadal
Zheng cites the ATP’s Big Three – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic – as her inspiration, but singles out Federer as her inspiration.
“He’s so classic on court and even now I still watch his videos when he’s playing. Of course, Djokovic and Nadal are amazing. I try to learn from them.”
Asked whether she has met Nadal, who is playing this week in Melbourne, Zheng said she is waiting until her ranking improves.
“I saw one practice of him and wow, he’s amazing. I don’t have the courage to ask for a picture. I don’t want to disturb him. I really want the signature and the picture but maybe when I get better.”
5. She wants to finish the year in the Top 30
When the tennis tours resumed 17 months ago following the Covid-19 shutdown, Zheng was ranked No 630. Since then, she has been near unstoppable. Zheng is now inching closer to her Top 100 debut and the confident teen is shooting for the Top 30.
“I know it’s quite difficult but I believe that my level is there. At the moment I have to get through match by match, point by point. I think I have the level to be there.”
