"It's really her job to know";"Giving major 'I don’t follow women tennis' vibes": Fans baffled by Zheng Qinwen's 'shocking' admission about WTA Finals
Zheng Qinwen is gearing up to kick off her 2024 Asian swing at her home tournament, the China Open. Ahead of the main draw action, the Chinese No. 1 made a shocking admission about not knowing she was in contention for the WTA Finals.
Zheng Qinwen has played the best tennis of her young career so far in 2024 and broke into the top 10 of the WTA Rankings. She will enter the China Open as the fifth seed.
In an interview before the 2024 China Open, the 21-year-old stated that she decided not to play many important tournaments earlier in the year after her runners-up at the Australian Open as she was unaware of the qualification criteria for the WTA Finals. Due to that decision, the Chinese player missed out on gaining essential ranking points.
“It’s really funny I made the final of Australian Open but after that I didn’t take some tournaments seriously & didn’t get enough points. Judging from the points I have, it’s difficult for me to make the finals this year,” Zheng Qinwen said (translated from Mandarin).
Zheng further said that she even complained to her team about the issue and blamed them for not monitoring her WTA Finals qualification.
“I even complained to the team for not telling me earlier about the qualification of the WTA Finals. Now I feel the pressure but I cannot do anything. All I can do is give my best in the competitions," the Chinese added.
Tennis fans were taken aback by Zheng Qinwen's honest admission and stunned that a top-10 player was unaware of the WTA Finals. A fan also pointed out Zheng was the runners-up at the WTA Elite Trophy last year and could not fathom how she did not know about the year-end championships.
"Top WTA player doesn’t know how points work? This is the most shocking tennis player statement ive ever read," a fan wrote.
"This doesn’t even make sense. She played in the Elite Finals last year. How does she not know what the WTA Finals are?? I call bs lmao," another fan said.
"She’s so unserious man," a fan posted on X.
A fan also looked back at the time when Zheng did not know who Barbora Krejcikova was, even though she had just won the 2021 French Open, and joked that the Chinese player does not know the sport she plays. Others even suggested that she should be banned from the sport.
"Between this and not knowing who Krej was even after she had won RG, Queenwen is giving major “I don’t follow Tennis, women tennis” vibes," a fan commented.
"In any other sport this chick would be banned and investigated for match fixing. Tennis is really the sketchiest sport in the world," another fan wrote.
A fan opined that Zheng Qinwen must have thought that her Olympic gold medal ensured enough points for her to make it into the WTA Finals. Another fan urged Zheng to do her "due diligence" and be more informed about her profession.
"She must’ve thought the olympics gave out points for all i know," a fan joked.
"Like it's really her job to know, there's no reason she should heap all the blame on her team. It's her life man, it's just like saying she doesn't know what her ranking was. Do the due diligence," another fan tweeted.
"Sheer muppetry, a dying art," a fan wrote.
Zheng Qinwen is in prime position to qualify for WTA Finals 2024
Despite not knowing about the WTA Finals qualification criteria at the start of 2024, Zheng Qinwen is well poised to make her debut at the tournament this year. She is currently placed ninth on the Race to Finals list with 3070 points, just one spot outside the automatic eight qualification lots. Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka are the only two players who have officially qualified for the 2024 WTA Finals.
Zheng has made significant breakthroughs in 2024. She reached her maiden Major final of the 2024 Australian Open, coming up short against Sabalenka, and took home the women's singles gold medal at the Paris Olympics. In addition, she also defended her title at the 2024 Palermo Ladies Open and reached the quarterfinals at the US Open, Dubai Tennis Championships, and the Italian Open.
Danielle Collins currently occupies the eighth and final WTA Finals qualification spot. With Elena Rybakina's recent injury troubles and multiple withdrawals, Zheng Qinwen holds the fate of her qualification for the year-end championships in her own hands.