Following her 6-0, 6-3 win over France’s Oceane Dodin within the fourth spherical of the Australian Open on Monday, Zheng Qinwen has emerged, when it comes to each rating and kind, because the front-runner to succeed in the ultimate in Melbourne this week.
The lopsided high part of the draw, which has seen all the highest seeds bow out early, has opened up an unlikely alternative for the 21-year-old World No.15, who has a giant serve, topspin-laden groundstrokes, and aggressive enjoying model, to develop into the primary Chinese language participant since Li Na to succeed in the latter phases of a singles Main.
The achievement could be an early fruits of China’s latest tennis increase — the place an rising set of proficient gamers of a sport with growing recognition have been given institutional help.
Tennis enjoys unprecedented recognition in China. A report revealed by the Worldwide Tennis Federation (ITF) in 2021 states that almost 1 / 4 (22.9%) of worldwide tennis is performed in China, regardless of the nation not boasting of a excessive variety of courts, golf equipment, or academies. In line with Vogue, the nation’s tennis increase is as a lot concerning the sport as it’s about it being a “life-style and trend phenomenon”, pointing to its ties to aspirations of upward mobility of social-status.
However leisure recognition hardly interprets to skilled sporting success; the identical ITF report’s 2019 version said that 9.2% of worldwide tennis is performed in India, a rustic that has not been capable of produce a single high 100 singles participant within the 4 years since. And China was by no means a historic tennis vacation spot. Olympic sports activities and different racquet sports activities like badminton and desk tennis have loved larger success within the area. Regardless of some profitable doubles gamers, two-time Main winner Li Na is the one world tennis star from the nation.
She retired in 2014. Till 2022, no Chinese language man had ever gained a major draw singles match at a Grand Slam.
Extra not too long ago, nevertheless, tennis has obtained main authorities backing. Services have been overhauled, grassroots academies have been offered focus, extra tournaments have been organised, former gamers and international consultants have been roped in as coaches. China additionally has the benefit of dominating the Asian swing of the skilled excursions. One of many 9 Masters 1000 ATP occasions takes place in Shanghai, and till not too long ago, the year-ending WTA Finals came about in Shenzhen. Many different big-ticket occasions additionally happen there in September and October.
The outcomes of the entire above are there to see. Eight gamers, seven ladies and one man, are at present within the high 100. 9 Chinese language gamers have been within the singles major draw of the Australian Open this 12 months. Collectively, 2023 might have been Chinese language ladies’s best-ever season, with three separate tour-level title winners.
BACK-TO-BACK Grand Slam quarterfinals for Zheng Qinwen 💪
The No.12 seed overpowers Dodin 6-0, 6-3 to progress to the final eight in Melbourne.#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/gJ0XCDiZaj
— wta (@WTA) January 22, 2024
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No Sino star is displaying the success of the nation’s latest increase greater than Zheng, who’s knocking on the door of a high 10 debut this week. Whereas gamers of Li’s technology all got here with one-dimensional aggressive baseline enjoying types, Zheng, who’s now based mostly out of Barcelona and has labored with international coaches, is markedly totally different. She will be able to smash down aces on demand, performs with extra topspin versus flatter hitting, and prefers to shorten factors with selection.
She herself credit this to publicity. “Clearly, 15 years in the past in China, tennis was simply starting, so we don’t have a lot alternative to enhance our system of teaching,” Zheng was quoted as saying by the WTA web site. “Now after 15 years, we all know extra concerning the world, we all know how everyone is enjoying, we attempt a number of totally different coaches to actually enhance our video games. So all of us are beginning to have extra data about tennis.”
Her quarterfinal is in opposition to the Seventy fifth-ranked Anna Kalinskaya on Wednesday. No different participant in her half of the draw is ranked above 50. A gaping alternative has introduced itself to take her profession and Chinese language tennis to the following stage this week, however both approach, the nation is on its approach up.