November 04, (THEWILL) – Zheng Qinwen, the 22-year-old Chinese player, has improved her chances of advancing to the semi-finals at the WTA Finals in Riyadh with a hard-fought 7-6 3-6 6-1 victory over world number five Elena Rybakina.
The seventh-seeded Zheng rebounded from her opening round-robin defeat by Aryna Sabalenka to claim her first win from three meetings with Rybakina. The Kazakh player suffered her second defeat in as many matches this week in Saudi Arabia and is now facing elimination, with one more round-robin clash to go against Sabalenka on Wednesday.
During her on-court interview, Zheng apologised to the Chinese fans in the stands for “losing control” of her emotions at one point during the match, admitting she was “harsh” in her reaction to them, and thanked them for their support. “I’m really happy to have won this match because I never beat her before and she’s one of the greatest players right now on tour, huge serve and great groundstrokes,” said Zheng.
Zheng’s impressive second half of the season, which saw her win titles in Palermo and Tokyo, and an Olympic gold medal in singles in Paris, has made her a force to be reckoned with. She is the first Chinese player to qualify for the WTA Finals since Li Na in 2013, and has the most wins on the tour within that span.
Rybakina, on the other hand, has struggled with various health issues in the latter part of 2024, playing just two matches between Wimbledon and the WTA Finals. Her campaign in Riyadh showed her resilience, but ultimately, Zheng’s superior form and focus proved too much for the world number five.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
