Zheng Qinwen scripts history at Paris Olympics with gold medal, becomes first singles player ever from China to win Olympic title in tennis
Zheng Qinwen made history at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Saturday, defeating Croatia's Donna Vekic in the final to win gold. By doing so, the Chinese became the first ever singles player from her country to take home the gold medal at the Olympic Games.
Zheng, the reigning Asian Games champion, came into the semifinal after a morale-boosing win over World No. 1 and five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek in the semifinals. Vekic, on the other hand, prevailed over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the semifinals and was gunning for her maiden big career title.
On Court Philippe-Chartrier, it was the Chinese who started strong, breaking early to go 3-0 up. With Vekic nursing nerves in what was the biggest final of her career so far, Zheng sealed the set 6-2 with a second break of serve.
The second set started similarly, with the Asian Games champ breaking early and going 2-0 up. This time, however, Vekic immediately earned the break back and restored parity at 2-2. At 4-3*, the Croat faltered, losing her serve despite saving three break points to go 3-5 down. Serving for the gold, Zheng Qinwen held her nerves, winning 6-2, 6-3 to make history after a little over 100 minutes of play on the clay in Paris.
Zheng Qinwen's win in Paris marks China's fourth-ever medal at the Olympics in tennis. In 2004, Li Ting and Sun Tiantian won gold in women's doubles, while Yan Zi and Zheng Jie took the bronze in women's doubles in 2008. In 2024, Wang Xinyu and Zheng Zhizhen won the mixed doubles silver on Friday, losing out to Katerina Siniakova and Tomas Machac in the final.
Zheng Qinwen's incredible performance in 2024 ahead of Paris Olympics
Zheng Qinwen has been a revelation in the 2024 season, making her maiden Grand Slam final at the Australian Open to kickstart her year. However, the Chinese fell to defending champ Aryna Sabalenka in the summit clash. Regardless, she broke into the top 10 thanks to her run, becoming only the second Chinese player to achieve that in the Open Era after Li Na.
After that, she experienced a minor dip in form, losing in the third round of the French Open and going out in the first round at Wimbledon. However, she bounced back at the Palermo Open last month, beating former Roland Garros finalist Karolina Muchova in the championship round to win her third WTA Tour title.
Now, she is ranked World No. 7, with a quarterfinal run at the US Open and a runner-up finish at the WTA Elite trophy to defend for the rest of the year.