Chao News client reporter Wang Pingqin
On October 13, the 2024 Wuhan Open Tennis Championships ushered in the final, and China's first sister Zheng Qinwen fought Sabalenka again and won the runner-up in the Wuhan Open. Although he has not yet been able to climb this mountain, Zheng Qinwen's progress and leap have amazed everyone.
This Chinese season, the Chinese women's tennis is blooming, the new force of the men's tennis is showing its edge, and more and more spectators are entering the arena to cheer for the players.
Chinese tennis in October is full of vitality and hope.
Photo via WTA International Women's Tennis Association
Fight against old rival Sabalenka again
One step further towards crossing the mountains
This is Zheng Qinwen's fourth matchup with Sabalenka.
At the 2023 US Open, Zheng Qinwen lost to Sabalenka 1:6, 4:6 and stopped in the quarterfinals. At the 2024 Australian Open, Zheng Qinwen reached the final, facing Sabalenka again across the net, and missed the Grand Slam trophy 3:6 and 2:6. In the 2024 US Open, facing Sabalenka, Zheng Qinwen failed to go further 1:6 and 2:6.
Sabalenka is 26 years old, 1.82 meters tall, with a fierce style of play and a well-rounded technique. At the 2024 US Open, Sabalenka defeated many national players all the way to lift the US Open trophy and set an incredible record - the average forehand speed reached 129 km/h, surpassing Sinner, Alcaraz, Djokovic and other top men's players, ranking first.
In the face of such an opponent, before the game, Zheng Qinwen said that he wanted to play his own style, "The first point is that I must relax mentally, I just thought too much about it when I played Sabalenka last time, and I didn't really play my own form." I've learned from the last lesson that I need to keep my mind balanced. I know Sabalenka is a very strong opponent and I have a lot of firepower in attack. ”
In the game, in the face of Sabalenka's heavy blows, Zheng Qinwen's progress was visible to the naked eye, and he completely played his own style.
Photo via WTA International Women's Tennis Association
In the Australian Open final at the beginning of 2024, Zheng Qinwen did not have much to do in the face of Sabalenka's "three-board axe", and the two sides often held each other beyond three beats. But standing at the scene of the Wuhan Open final, Zheng Qinwen can not only hold more shots with Sabalenka on the bottom line, but also find opportunities to mobilize Sabalenka and force the opponent to make mistakes.
Zheng Qinwen used his strength to prove that it may not be too long to climb over this mountain.
2024 season
Breakthrough has become the key word of Zheng Qinwen
The 2024 season is a breakthrough year for Zheng Qinwen.
At the beginning of the year, she reached the final of the Australian Open, becoming the second Chinese player to stand in the Australian Open women's singles final after Li Na, and started the first spring thunder in Chinese sports in 2024.
This Grand Slam women's singles final was just the starting point.
At the Paris Olympics, Zheng Qinwen showed his strong resilience and won the gold medal in history, making the name Zheng Qinwen a household name and setting off a tennis boom in China.
In the Chinese season, Zheng Qinwen broke into the semifinals of the China Open, and reached the final of the 1000 tournament for the first time in his hometown of Wuhan.
After experiencing the baptism of the Olympic Games and many high-level events, Zheng Qinwen's competition temperament and skills have been significantly improved in less than a year. The serve is more stable, the return is significantly improved, the multi-shot hold does not fall behind, and the "big heart" has allowed her to complete the reversal when she is behind many times.
Photo via WTA International Women's Tennis Association
Zheng Qinwen's next goal is to enter the year-end finals. As the grand finale of the year, the WTA Finals will feature eight of the top female players (the top 8 players in points or the top 20 Grand Slam champions of the year are eligible). Swiatek, Sabalenka and other 6 players have a clear lead and basically locked up the seats in the year-end finals. Wimbledon champion Krejcikova has also been almost confirmed to qualify for the Grand Slam title, and the final place in the finals will be between Zheng Qinwen and Navarro.
Relying on his performance in the China Open and the Wuhan Open, Zheng Qinwen's championship points came to 4,100 points, 582 points ahead of Navarro, and he took the initiative in this "point grabbing battle".
With the continuous polishing of technology and the accumulation of competition experience, Zheng Qinwen, who has just passed his 22nd birthday, has infinite possibilities in the future.
The Chinese players performed well
The tennis court is full of life
This Chinese season, we have witnessed the golden age of Chinese men's tennis slowly kicking off, and we have also witnessed the blossoming of women's tennis.
Under the leadership of the first brother Zhang Zhizhen, the Chinese men's tennis broke out collectively. First, the 19-year-old Shang Juncheng won the first tour title of his career, and then Zhejiang player and Mongolian boy Buyun Chaokert reached the semi-finals at the China Open, setting a new record for a Chinese player in this tournament. Plagued by injuries, Wu Yixuan reached the round of 32 of the Shanghai Masters and performed brilliantly against Alcaraz.
While Zheng Qinwen continued to grow, Wang Xinyu also reached the semifinals of the Wuhan Open, and together with Zheng Qinwen, she staged a Chinese derby in the semifinals of the WTA1000 Tournament. Veteran Zhang Shuai ended his 24-game singles losing streak at the China Open and went all the way to the quarterfinals, proving that he can still play.
The outstanding performance of the Chinese players also drove the attendance of the event. Starting from September 24, the ATP 250 will be held in Hangzhou and Chengdu at the same time, followed by the opening of the China Open, spanning the 11th Golden Week, bringing exciting events at the WTA1000 level and ATP 500 level. The Shanghai Masters and the Wuhan Tennis Open were also held one after another.
Driven by Zheng Qinwen's super popularity, there is a tennis boom in China, and more and more spectators are entering the arena to witness the breakthrough of Chinese players at their doorstep. According to relevant data, the 2024 China Network attracted about 300,000 spectators to the scene, and the total ticket revenue exceeded 80 million yuan, setting a new record in the history of the event.
The Ningbo Open, Jiangxi Open, Guangzhou Open and Hong Kong Open will follow, and the "China Season" will continue until early November. The intensive high-level tournaments have also contributed to the development of tennis in China.
This October, both the development of the game and the development of players have shown an upward momentum. Chinese tennis has shown vitality and vigor.
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