ZipRecruiter Player Resume: Zheng Qinwen is chasing her Grand Slam dream

“Queenwen” has a heart of gold and a champion’s spirit. A former junior standout, Zheng Qinwen first broke into the Top 100 as a teenager, and is currently sitting at a career high of No. 18 after another impressive year on the WTA tour.

After ending 2022 with a first WTA final in Tokyo, Zheng took 2023 by storm, winning two titles in Palermo and Zhengzhou and reaching her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the US Open, where she stunned former finalist Ons Jabeur in straight sets.

At the forefront of a new generation of Chinese talent, Zheng takes inspiration from Li Na, the first woman from China to win a major title at 2011 Roland Garros.

“Li Na won her first Grand Slam, and I then started thinking that, ‘Oh, the Asian player can also do something good in tennis. This is such an international sport,’” Zheng said in a Tennis.com exclusive. “I think that she put a little seed in my heart that I also want to do it. I want to try to be like her, you know, and even better.”

And that is exactly what she has proved so far this year—that she can and deserves to compete against the best of the best in the world. Her most notable wins are against Jabeur, Maria Sakkari, and Annett Kontaveit.

“I wish in (2023), I can really do something in the big tournaments. I enjoy to play in the big stadiums. That makes me feel the competition.”