Zheng Qinwen made history on Sunday by becoming the first Chinese player to win the China Open, defeating Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-4 at the National Tennis Center in Beijing. The 24-year-old, competing as a wild card, captured her maiden WTA 1000 title in front of a large and enthusiastic home crowd, marking a significant milestone in her comeback from injury.

Zheng’s victory came after a challenging period marked by an elbow injury that sidelined her for much of 2025 and early 2026. Once ranked as high as No. 4 in the world and the reigning Olympic singles gold medalist from Paris 2024, she plummeted to No. 160 by mid-2026 due to fitness struggles. She began to regain form in recent months, highlighted by a remarkable run to the US Open quarterfinals in September, where she defeated top players including the 2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys and six-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek.

Sunday’s final saw Zheng fend off multiple set points in the opening set, which she won 7-5 by stringing together 11 consecutive points late in the set. She broke Andreeva late in the second set and sealed the match with an ace on match point after one hour and 43 minutes. Zheng described winning the title at home as an “incredible” experience and said the support of the Beijing crowd was both motivating and pressure-filled.

Andreeva, the 19-year-old French Open champion and world No. 4 seeded player, acknowledged Zheng’s strong performance despite her own consistency early in the match. She described her week in Beijing as “very, very nice” and will move closer to world No. 3 in upcoming rankings, becoming the youngest player to reach that position since Maria Sharapova in 2005.

The China Open this year set new records for attendance and revenue, largely attributed to Zheng’s resurgence. The tournament’s executive deputy director reported total attendance exceeding 450,000, up 25 percent from the previous year, and ticket revenue reached a record 132 million yuan (approximately $19.7 million). The event also attracted significant international spectatorship, with 60 percent of attendees coming from outside Beijing and nearly 10,000 from overseas.

Zheng’s comeback and victory have been viewed as a highlight of a flourishing season for Chinese tennis, which also includes the upcoming Shanghai Masters and Wuhan Open tournaments. Both Zheng and Andreeva are scheduled to compete at the Wuhan Open, where Zheng aims to continue her rise and potentially return to the top 20 in the WTA rankings.