Zheng Qinwen, who is still in her ascendancy in the women’s tennis circuit, came out trumps in the Pan Pacific Open held in Tokyo on Sunday when she registered a hard fought three set victory over Sofia Kenin in the final. Anastasia bounced back at the 21-year-old Chinese star winning 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 in a match that had everything, thus won her third WTA singles trophy in 2024, and built her reputation as the future face of tennis.
Zheng’s win in Tokyo signals the end of a spectacular year that has seen her climb the ranking and enter the world’s elite 15 players. The dominant baseliner was able to dominate Kenin with her fore and backhand attacks in the first set before the American stepped up to take the match to the third set. But Zheng again proved her muscles were strong mentally as she fought back to come out and win the match in one hour and 45 minutes.
The title puts Zheng’s title tally at 2024 from Palermo and Zhengzhou, and Zheng’s progress from a promising junior to a consistent contender at WTA tournaments. People are hailing her success as a great boost to tennis in China and Zheng has turned out to be the most potential player in the post Li Na era.
Zheng’s coach, Wim Fissette, complimented her on her pressure and on how she managed to bring more of her powerful game this season. The Belgian, who in the past trained Naomi Osaka and Victoria Azarenka, noted that Zheng is currently very capable of going for Grand Slam titles in the coming year.
The win in Tokyo also confirms Zheng’s place in the WTA Finals in Shenzhen next month, where only the world’s best eight players will be selected. It was a meteoric rise for the youngster, who was unranked outside 100 at the time of 18 months ago at least.
Zheng’s success is causing a lot of fuss in China, where she is already viewed as the successor of Li Na. A couple of her latest wins has been highlighted by the state media with several analysts lauding her fighting spirit and powerful striking prowess.
In the future, the ultimate goal of Zheng has been to become a top 10 player and reach the quarterfinals in next year’s Australian Open. Having won another title and with her confidence so high, the next push and each future victory is open for China’s new star of tennis.