The 9th Asian Games will open in Hangzhou on September 23. Zheng Qinwen, who recently reached the quarterfinals of the women's singles at the US Open, participated in the Asian Games torch relay in Zhejiang on September 9. On the 19th, Zheng Qinwen will step on the Hangzhou Asian Games, she said: "I hope to have a good performance in the Asian Games." ”

Starting from Wuhan, "Rocket Girl" chases her tennis dream

In January 2014, when watching the Australian Open final with his friends at the Jianghan Erqiao Sports Training Base of Wuhan Sports Bureau, 1-year-old Zheng Qinwen told reporters with great anticipation: "In the future, I also want to win the Grand Slam championship, and I also want to win glory for the country..." At that time, the seeds of "dreams" had begun to germinate and grow.

Zheng Qinwen has shown great athletic talent since she was a child, and in 2008, she fell in love with the sport after watching a tennis match at the Beijing Olympics. Later, Zheng Qinwen received professional tennis training at the Jianghan Erqiao Sports Training Base of Wuhan Sports Bureau, and Zheng Qinwen's father Zheng Jianping once said: "It was during that period of training that Zheng Qinwen was significantly improved in terms of body, physical fitness and consciousness, laying a solid foundation for future development." ”

In the following time, Zheng Qinwen moved firmly step by step towards the goal in his heart. As his level of competition improved, in early 2015, Zheng Qinwen was given the opportunity to train in Beijing to learn from Grand Slam champion Carlos. In 2019, she signed a contract with IMG and officially entered professional training and competition.

From the 2020 season to the 2021 season, Zheng Qinwen trained on the ITF Women's Tennis World Tour and won the women's singles championship in many tournaments. At the beginning of 2022, Zheng Qinwen, who is under the age of 20, began his journey in the WTA professional arena. At the Australian Open in January 2022, Cheng Chin Man, who made her first Grand Slam adult tournament, not only made it through the qualifying hurdles to advance to the main draw, but also reached the second round of the main draw, winning her Grand Slam opener.

In July of that year, the Table Tennis and Badminton Tennis Sports Management Center of Wuhan Sports Bureau signed the "Zheng Qinwen Training and Climbing Agreement" with Zheng Qinwen to provide support for Zheng Qinwen in hiring high-level coaches, scientific research, medical rehabilitation and other aspects to help her better pursue her tennis dream.

The strong support of the "mother's family" has given Zheng Qinwen a tiger - by the end of the 2022 season, she has rushed to 25th place in the world, becoming a veritable "Rocket Girl" and winning the WTA2022 Newcomer of the Year.

After two years of "joining", he has made breakthroughs in the Grand Slam arena one after another

2022 is Zheng Qinwen's first year in the WTA adult professional tournament, and the opening to the Australian Open main draw also makes a good start for Zheng Qinwen in the Grand Slam court. At the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open that year, she performed very well, reaching the round of 16, 32 and 32 respectively.

Especially at the French Open in May of that year, Zheng Qinwen successively defeated Zanevska, Halep and Kornet, who were ranked in the top 5 in the world at that time, becoming the fourth Chinese Jinhua to break into the round of 40 of the French Open, and was also officially rated by the French Open as one of the four players with surprising performance at the French Open that year.

After entering the 2023 season, Zheng Qinwen reached the second round at both the Australian Open and the French Open. However, she suffered a "round trip" at Wimbledon in early July, the first time she was out of the first round of the Grand Slam women's singles in her career. During that time, Zheng Qinwen's competitive condition was not very good.

Before the US Open, Zheng Qinwen went to Italy to participate in the WTA 250 Palermo tournament. In Palermo, she made it all the way to her first career WTA Tour title. "This championship was hard-won, and after going through defeat, tears, regrets and disappointments, finally tasting victory, I believe this is just the beginning." Zheng Qinwen said this at the time.

With the confidence of Palermo winning the championship, Zheng Qinwen gradually came out of the trough. After the start of the US Open, Zheng Qinwen quickly entered the form, and people were pleasantly surprised to find that her ability to read matches was significantly improved, and she was much calmer and more patient when the game was glued, daring to play more shots with her opponents, and there were more changes in the long and short balls.

At the US Open, Zheng Qinwen lived up to expectations, defeating a number of strong opponents, including 2022 US Open runner-up Abdul-Jabbar, to reach the last eight, breaking a number of career records, and becoming the youngest Chinese tennis golden flower to reach the last eight of a Grand Slam.

These hearty victories have allowed Zheng Qinwen, who has experienced a season of first suppression and then promotion, to regain his long-lost confidence and happiness. Although she later lost to world No. 1 Sabalenka in the women's singles quarterfinal, Zheng Qinwen once again achieved a new breakthrough in the "second year" of his career.

Playing in the Asian Games, I hope to play at the best level

Before the start of the 2023 US Open, Zheng Qinwen's name appeared in the Chinese tennis team's Asian Games roster. As soon as the US Open ended, Zheng Qinwen returned to China and followed the national team to train in Shanghai for a period of time to prepare for the Hangzhou Asian Games.

"This Asian Games will be held in Hangzhou, it is a competition on the doorstep. My first time playing at the Asian Games, and this is my first time playing at home and in front of many Chinese fans since I became a professional footballer, and I am looking forward to it. I haven't played in China for a long time, and I hope to play my best. Zheng Qinwen said.

In November 2022, Zheng Qinwen represented China in the Billy Jane Gold Cup (formerly Confederations Cup) World Group play-offs, and won 11 point for China in the away match against Slovenia. A year later, looking back on that competition, Zheng Qinwen still remembers it vividly, she said: "To represent the Chinese team must be the highest honor for an athlete. Playing the Confederations Cup as a team tournament feels more of a sense of belonging to me, because the previous professional tournaments such as the four Grand Slams were played by one person, and the Confederations Cup was played as a team, and I am very excited and honored, and I hope to have more opportunities to represent my country in the future. ”

Zheng Qinwen, whose latest world ranking is 22nd, is one of the high-profile athletes in the Asian Games tennis competition. For the upcoming Asian Games competition, Zheng Qinwen said that his current form has recovered well: "After a few days of rest at the US Open, then I came back to adjust the jet lag, and now I am in a state of imminent play. ”

At the Hangzhou Asian Games, Zheng Qinwen will not only compete in the singles competition, but also pair up with Zhu Lin to challenge the women's doubles event, which is also a new challenge for her. Zheng Qinwen won a bronze medal in women's doubles for Hubei at the 2021 National Games, but since then, she has focused on singles competitions and rarely combined events. "I haven't tried much with doubles before, so I want to take this opportunity to tap into my potential." She said.

Zheng Qinwen expressed great expectations for this, she said: "I am looking forward to being able to compete in China, not only the Asian Games, but also the professional tennis Chinese season after the Asian Games, I hope everyone can come to the scene to cheer for our Chinese athletes." ”

Wuhan Evening News reporter Zhang Lin