China News Service, Beijing, September 25th (Reporter Wang Hao) On the 25th, Beijing time, the WTA500 Tokyo Station women's singles final was held. China's 19-year-old Zheng Qinwen played against Samsonova. In the end, Zheng Qinwen lost to his opponent 0:2 , missed the championship.
This is Zheng Qinwen's first career tour final, and next week her world ranking will enter the world's top 30.
Image source: Official blog of the WTA International Women's Tennis Association.
Tokyo
Zheng Qinwen performed well in the Tokyo station. In the previous semifinals, she reversed No. 4 seed Kudmetova after a fierce three-hour battle and reached the tour final for the first time in her career.
The only previous encounter between Zheng Qinwen and Samsonova was in Palermo last year, when Zheng Qinwen defeated his opponent in the first round and then won the first WTA main match of his career.
In the final of this Tokyo Station, the two players at the beginning of the first set showed evenly matched strength. It was not until the end of the set that Samsonova broke serve first and finally won the first set with 7:5.
In the second set, Zheng Qinwen was the first to break serve, but she withstood the pressure to break back, and the two fought 3:3 in the first 6 games.
But after that, Zheng Qinwen suffered another break, and finally lost another set at 5:7, missing the championship.
Zheng Qinwen in the Tokyo Station competition.
Image credit: Osports All Sports Photo Agency
ranking
In 2022, Zheng Qinwen can be described as making rapid progress.
At the beginning of the year, her world ranking was still outside the top 100. On September 19, local time, the WTA official website updated the world ranking. Zheng Qinwen ranked 36th, which refreshed her personal highest ranking.
After reaching the final of Tokyo Station, next week she will also become the first Chinese teenage player to enter the world's top 30 singles world rankings.
In the second round of the French Open women's singles this year, Zheng Qinwen, who played for the first time at the French Open, reversed and defeated Halep, the former world number one, two-time Grand Slam winner and 2018 French Open women's singles champion, and advanced to the top 32.
The teenager is making more and more breakthroughs.
Looking back on Zheng Qinwen's growth experience, we will find that she has many overlaps with Li Na, China's first Grand Slam women's singles champion.
Zheng Qinwen was born in Hubei in 2002. Not only does she have a tenacious playing style similar to Li Na, but she also learns from many Li Na's mentors.
Zheng Qinwen (right) competes at the Tokyo Station.
Image credit: Osports All Sports Photo Agency
When Zheng Qinwen was 7 years old, he learned ball with Li Na's enlightenment coach Xia Xiyao, and a year later he apprenticed with Li Na's provincial team coach Yu Liqiao. Zheng Qinwen also studied under Li Na's former coach Carlos.
She once said in an interview that it was Li Na who gave her the dream of winning a Grand Slam.
future
In recent seasons, Zheng Qinwen has been honing her skills in overseas ITF events. In the past three years, her year-end ranking has also climbed.
Zheng Qinwen once said in an interview that his rapid progress benefited from the training in Spain in the past two years.
"I admire the willpower of Spanish players. When I was a young player, I felt that was exactly what I wanted to learn," she said. "The experience of the past two years has improved me a lot. This way Obviously it worked for me and I'll keep going."
Data map: Li Na swings and hits the ball in the exhibition match.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Chang
In this year's competitions, Zheng Qinwen has shown more and more competitiveness, and more and more fans have high hopes.
Although Zheng Qinwen finally failed to win the championship in Tokyo Station, many people believe that the 19-year-old teenager has a bright future.
In 2011, when Li Na won China's first Grand Slam title in the French Open women's singles match, young Zheng Qinwen watched the match on TV.
Since then, the Chinese tennis golden flowers have been working hard in the world arena, and Zheng Qinwen, who has grown up, has also joined in. I hope these girls can bring more surprises to Chinese tennis in the future!
(Finish)