Zheng Qinwen on the pressures of being an Olympic champion: "I like that"
The first-ever Asian to win a tennis singles gold at the Games wants to embrace all that comes with the turf of being an Olympic queen. And she plans to show why at her first WTA Finals in November.
Tennis
Zheng Qinwen is out to slay a few more giants at the WTA Finals in Riyadh next month as the Paris 2024 Olympic champion look to close out a strong season stronger.
“Honestly I have big expectations at the WTA Finals,” Zheng, one of the elite eight for the Finals, said in Tokyo on Monday (21 October) as the main draw of the Pan Pacific Open tennis got under way.
“I won a lot of great matches but also the players there, they are really strong. They had a lot of Slams, they went to the final two times this year so it's not going to be easy.
“I expect a hard match every round but this makes me more excited because that's why I played tennis - to have more challenges.
“I like it when the players’ performances are better, which means we can push each other to show better tennis.”
Zheng Qinwen became the first Asian to win an Olympic tennis singles gold medal, male or female.
Zheng Qinwen: "I need to improve more"
Zheng is about to put the finishing touches on a banner year which she kicked off by becoming the first Chinese player to reach a Grand Slam final since Li Na - her childhood idol - in 2014 at the Australian Open.
Then came the triumph in Paris, where she became the first Asian tennis player, male or female, to win a singles gold medal and followed up at the US Open with a run to her third quarter-final at a major.
Zheng, who turned 22 only two weeks ago, has become the new face of the sport in her native country, the People’s Republic of China, thanks to her Olympic gold, only the second-ever from her nation.
The Barcelona-based star found out firsthand just how crazy Zheng-mania has become back home when she recently returned for the China and Wuhan Open tournaments.
“After I won the Olympic Games, coming back to China, more people started knowing about me and it was funny because if I came out from the hotel, I have security around me,” said the Shiyan native, one of the top servers on the tour who is second on the aces leaderboard only to Elena Rybakina.
“In China Open and in Wuhan Open almost everywhere I go, there must be security because if not then people come to me and always ask for signatures on the photograph, which is good because I'm more famous but at the same time you feel you are always under people's eyes. But it's good things and bad things.
“I enjoyed the time in China, especially this year. I had a great performance in the Chinese season. Olympic Games brings me a lot but at the same time it also tells me I need to improve more myself because I always feel the winning comes with the responsibility on my shoulder.”
Zheng Qinwen: "You don't just play for yourself"
Behind one of the heaviest forehands around, Zheng came up just short of a title at her home Opens. In Beijing she reached the last four and in Wuhan she lost to top seed Aryna Sabalenka in the final, an opponent she is 0-4 lifetime against.
Zheng admitted she was running on fumes post-US Open, but says her mojo is back for the Pan Pacific Open where she marched to her first WTA final appearance two years ago.
“Yes after Wuhan, it's true physically and mentally I was really tired but after almost one week off and then I come back again and I was feeling more fresh. Also my body compared to Wuhan was much better.
“I’m just going to perform like all the matches that I did before and let's see what's going to happen this year in Tokyo. The WTA Finals is really close but first of all, always trying to keep the body healthy and then I talk about tennis. Let's see how it goes here.”
The popularity of women’s tennis has been climbing in China and Zheng is a big reason why. Like it or not, she has become a role model for children as Li once was to her.
But Zheng doesn’t mind the onus. In fact, she welcomes the scrutiny and expectation that comes along with being an Olympic champion. And she’s ready to show that determination in Japan this week before vaulting to the WTA Finals Riyadh (2-9 November), her first appearance in the season-ender.
“I started to feel a big responsibility after I came back to China because a lot of kids, they come to see my matches. Also the parents they start to ask on social media how they can become better in tennis, how they can educate the kids better.
“I feel like how I behave on court, but at the same time outside of the court, is going to affect what the kids are going to learn. My parents tell me you have to watch out for childish behaviour because right now, you don't just play for yourself; there's a lot of eyes watching on you so you need to make sure you keep learning and always growing yourself.
“At the beginning, I did feel some pressure, but at the same time I like that because if I can constantly keep growing, I would say my mentality and my personal character will be higher than what I wanted as a kid.”
Chaos follows Zheng wherever she goes in her homeland.