Australian Open: ‘Queen Wen’ will bounce back, Chinese tennis fans say after setback in first grand slam final
- Zheng Qinwen consoled on Chinese social media after loss to Aryna Sabalenka in Melbourne
- The ‘tortuous road to pursue a grand slam dream’ of compatriot Li Na is recalled as commenters back Zheng to prevail eventually
Zheng was trending on Chinese social media platform Weibo during Saturday’s final against Aryna Sabalenka in Melbourne, with a post about her performance being viewed over 100 million times and people calling her the “hope for Chinese tennis”.
On Sunday, another Weibo topic, viewed over 300 million times, argued that the 21-year-old, affectionately known as Queen Wen, was too tenacious to allow losing her first grand-slam final to hinder her progress.
It referenced Li, China’s sole grand-slam singles title winner. Li had lost her own first grand-slam final, also in Australia, in 2011 before triumphing at the French Open a little over four months later. She lost another Australian Open final in 2013 before finally prevailing there the following year to finish with two major crowns.
“Thinking about Li Na’s tortuous road to pursue a grand slam dream, Zheng Qinwen is only one step away from the ultimate goal, and of course, it is also the most difficult step,” Chinese tennis reporter Zhang Bendou said on Weibo.
“[I am] looking forward to her next transformation and explosion. We will eventually witness Queen Wen become the queen of tennis in China.”
“Zheng Qinwen still has a long way to go, but the future belongs to her,” one person commented.
“In the 2008 Olympics, I was only nine years old and watched [Li] Na reach the semi-finals,” another added. “Six years later in 2014, I watched her win the Australian Open and started playing tennis myself.
“I have been a volunteer at the China Open since 2022 and have been a national second-level referee since 2023. I would like to thank Li and Zheng … it’s their performances that inspire me.”
During the tournament, Zheng – ranked 12th in the world but set to climb into the top 10 on Monday – did not have to face an opponent ranked inside the top 50 before she met defending champion and world No 2 Sabalenka in the final. Her highest-ranked opponent before that was the world No 54, Britain’s Katie Boulter.
Zheng’s road to the final was also more arduous than that of her opponent. She spent 11 hours on court in total and played two three-set matches, whereas Sabalenka needed less than seven hours yet managed to see off fourth seed Coco Gauff along with ninth seed and 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova.
The Belarusian blew Zheng away 6-3, 6-2 when the two eventually met, taking only 76 minutes to become the first woman in more than a decade to defend the year’s first slam crown.
Speaking afterwards, Zheng suggested the occasion may have overawed her.
“I didn’t play well … It’s my first grand slam final, so I was still a little nervous,” she said.
However, she told English-language Chinese state media outlet CGTN she would be better for the experience.
“Actually, I learned a lot from these two weeks,” she said. “The most important is I found a way to win even if I don’t feel that good or I don’t play my best tennis.
“This loss really makes me learn much more than the round before and makes me see what I need to improve more in my game to be able to come back stronger.”
