BEIJING (AP) — Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen won her first title in two years by beating French Open champion Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-4 in the China Open final Sunday.
Zheng clinched with her first match point chance, serving an ace to Andreeva’s backhand side, then fell to the court sobbing with emotion.
Zheng’s ranking plummeted due to an elbow injury from a career-high No. 4 last year to No. 54 coming into her home tournament as a wild card this week.
A stellar 2024 saw Zheng reach the final of the Australian Open, win the Paris Olympics singles title at Roland Garros, then in October take a fifth career title on the WTA tour in Japan.
As a qualifier at the U.S. Open in August, Zheng showed her old form was back when she advanced to the quarterfinals, having twice rallied from 5-0 deficits in matches she won against Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek.
Despite the loss, Andreeva is set to rise to a career-high No. 3 ranking.
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