Yesterday, Chinese player Zheng Qinwen lost to the defending champion Belarusian Sabalenka 3-6, 2-6, 0-2 in the women's singles final of the 2024 Australian Open. Unfortunately, she missed her first major. Grand Slam champion. However, with his outstanding performance in this Australian Open, Zheng Qinwen will reach No. 7 in the world for the first time next week. Although
missed the championship, Zheng Qinwen still made all Chinese tennis fans excited with his wonderful performance in the past two weeks. During the Australian Open, the scene where Chinese tennis star Li Na hugged Zheng Qinwen was talked about by Chinese fans.
won its first Grand Slam runner-up.
Zheng Qinwen, who played in his first Grand Slam final, faced the defending champion Sabalenka. He didn't have many cards in his hand and was still on the bright side. The outside world predicted that the winning rate of the two to win the championship was several times different.
In the quarter-finals of last year's US Open, the two met for the first time. Zheng Qinwen was swept by Sabalenka in two sets, and only got 5 games in the whole match. Before this final, both sides knew that the competition was not just about tennis.
At the award ceremony, Zheng Qinwen received the prize plate representing the first Grand Slam runner-up in his career. He also received 1,300 points and a runner-up bonus of 1.725 million Australian dollars, equivalent to approximately 8.05 million yuan. Zheng Qinwen's world ranking will rise from 15th before the start of the Australian Open to 7th. This is also the highest ranking of a Chinese player since Li Na.
took over the runner-up prize plate from the organizing committee. Zheng Qinwen said: "Thank you Sabalenka. This is my first final. This is a very unique experience. I want to thank the fans at the scene for their support." It can be seen that, Zheng Qinwen was still immersed in the emotions of the previous game, "I should have done better, but I still want to thank my team and thank them for their efforts." Then Sabalenka also expressed her praise for Zheng Qinwen, "I believe you can still We can continue to achieve excellent results."
The first official meeting with Li Na
The 21-year-old Chinese women's tennis number one player Zheng Qinwen set foot on the Grand Slam final court for the first time at the 2024 Australian Open. It has been 10 years since Li Na, the number one Chinese tennis player, won the Australian Open. ten years. In the past ten years, Zheng Qinwen followed in Li Na's footsteps, walked in front of Li Na, and paid tribute to Li Na.
Zheng Qinwen said that this Australian Open was her first official meeting with Li Na. But looking at Zheng Qinwen's tennis path, her enlightenment path has many overlaps with Li Na's tennis path. Zheng Qinwen, born in Shiyan, Hubei Province in 2002, started learning to play tennis at the age of 6 and showed good potential. According to a documentary produced by the Australian Open, Zheng Qinwen said that when he was 9 years old, he saw the 2011 French Open decisive battle in front of the TV that inspired countless Chinese fans. "At that time, Li Na had just won the French Open, and it was the first time I knew that an Asian tennis player could stand in the position of a Grand Slam champion. Li Na planted the seed of a dream in my heart." Zheng Qinwen recalled.
At that time, Li Na was already famous for tennis teaching in Wuhan. With the mentality of giving it a try, her parents brought her to Wuhan to learn from Li Na’s first coach Xia Xiyao. Zheng Qinwen then trained with Li Na's Hubei team coach Yu Liqiao. At the 14th Hubei Provincial Games held in 2014, 12-year-old Zheng Qinwen represented Shiyan in the tennis competition and won two gold medals. Zheng Qinwen's outstanding performance gave her the opportunity to come to Beijing and enter the Ingenuity Wheel Tennis School, where she studied under Li Na's mentor, the famous coach Carlos Rodriguez.
Carlos uses advanced training systems to train new tennis players such as Zheng Qinwen. Zheng Qinwen trained with Carlos for 4 years and gradually grew from a talented player to a mature player with comprehensive skills. During this period, Zheng Qinwen performed well in the youth competition. He participated in the youth competitions of French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open, and reached the top 16 in all of them.
Avoided the "pits" that Li Na stepped on
Zheng Qinwen has walked in Li Na's path, benefited from a better tennis environment and family environment, and avoided the "pits" that Li Na stepped on. As a tennis prodigy who became famous at a young age, Li Na was not used to the training and management methods of the tennis team at that time. In 2002, 20-year-old Li Na announced her retirement, and her boyfriend Jiang Shan also retired with Li Na. The two came to Huazhong University of Science and Technology to study journalism.In 2004, Li Na came back and won the Guangzhou Tennis Open, becoming the first Chinese player to win a WTA Tour championship. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Li Na won fourth place in the women's singles, which was the best result achieved by Chinese tennis women's singles at the Olympics. In 2011, the 29-year-old Li Na became the first Asian tennis player to win a Grand Slam after finishing second at the French Open.
Compared with Li Na's tortuous growth path in tennis, Zheng Qinwen had family support and a more professional tennis environment, allowing him to go abroad at a younger age. With the help of his parents, 17-year-old Zheng Qinwen went to Spain, accompanied by his mother, to receive guidance from the Spaniard Pere Riba, who had just retired and turned into a coach, and trained for 6 hours a day. During the epidemic, Zheng Qinwen still stayed in Europe to fight with the company of his team, and finally grew into China's new Grand Slam finalist.
This time at the Australian Open, Li Na was very excited when talking about Zheng Qinwen, "I envy your serve. If I had a serve as good as yours, I wouldn't be afraid of Serena Williams." Zheng Qinwen's serving weapon comes from both talent and hard practice. Coach Riba said: "I have never seen a player who works as hard as her in my life. She really wants to reach the top of professional tennis."
The ultimate goal is the Grand Slam champion
The seeds planted by Li Na in the past Germinate and grow. Since Zheng Qinwen started playing in the adult competition, he has gone from being ranked outside the top 1,000 in the world, to being ranked in the top 200, top 100, and now in the top 10 in the latest world ranking. During this period, Zheng Qinwen has consistently said in interviews, that is It should be like this, "My ultimate goal is to win a Grand Slam championship. This is a dream I have had since I was very young."
For his dream, Zheng Qinwen devoted everything to training and competition. During the previous winter training, Zheng Qinwen said that his day revolved around tennis.
Playing on tour means traveling around the world on business. Zheng Qinwen said, "When I'm abroad, I go to a Chinese restaurant to satisfy my cravings occasionally, basically once every two weeks." In Zheng Qinwen's travel suitcase, in addition to clothing, training equipment, and books, there are also many different notebooks. "Some are used to record training, and some are mood diaries." Zheng Qinwen said.
As the current leader of China's women's network, Zheng Qinwen can always feel that she is walking on the path blazed by Li Na as a pioneer. If she continues to move forward, she will avoid many detours. "You know when I was a kid, I watched Li Na play. I didn't understand why Sister Na was so emotional on the court. When I really came to this court, I realized that at that critical point, that emotional point was so difficult to control. I'm very Understand her." Zheng Qinwen said.
When dealing with his own emotions, Zheng Qinwen already knows how to relieve himself. "In my spare time, I want to cultivate my sentiments and slow myself down a little through music and singing. Only by being more peaceful can I do better."
Looking back at Zheng Qinwen's tennis path, one will feel that this tennis genius has encountered the most suitable soil and caught the hands of many noble people. Li Na, a Hubei fellow, followed in the footsteps of her idol Li Na, step by step from the childhood tennis court to the Grand Slam finals. This is a victory for Zheng Qinwen himself, his team, and his family. It is also the inheritance of Hubei tennis and the harvest of Chinese tennis.
Next, Zheng Qinwen will enter one Grand Slam final after another. Under the gaze of celebrities such as Li Na and Rod Laver, he will play alone and continue to pay tribute to Li Na and Chinese tennis with new results. .
text/reporter Chu Peng
coordinator/picture provided by Du Rui/Xinhua News Agency
source: Beijing Youth Daily
