Zheng Qinwen wins her maiden WTA 1000 title: Key stats
What's the story
Zheng Qinwen has made history by becoming the first Chinese woman to win the China Open WTA 1000 title. The 24-year-old achieved this feat after defeating No. 4 seed Mirra Andreeva in straight sets. Zheng won 7-5, 6-4 in in a crunch contest on Sunday. This is Zheng's first WTA 1000 title and her sixth overall on the WTA Tour.
Match details
A look at the match summary
The final match was a hard-fought battle, with Zheng having to save three set points in the 10th game of the first set.
She then won the last 11 points in a row, clinching the first set 7-5.
After an early exchange of breaks in the second set, Zheng broke late in the ninth game and held serve to complete her historic win with a scoreline of 7-5, 6-4.
Ranking impact
Zheng returns to top 30 of world rankings
Zheng's victory at the China Open will see her return to the top 30 in the world rankings next week. She had fallen to No. 160 midway through the season.
The win also marks Zheng's first title since her Tokyo triumph in late 2024.
Despite being ranked No. 54 in the world, Zheng is now the first wildcard winner of this event since its reinauguration in 2004 and also its lowest-ranked champion ever.
Match analysis
Other notable records from the match
Zheng won her first four matches at the tournament in three sets but won her last three matches in straight sets.
As per Opta, the 78 games she dropped on her way to the title were the most by a player winning a Tier I or WTA 1000 event since 1990.
The win over Andreeva was Zheng's 14th career victory over a top-10 opponent and third this season.
Despite the loss, Andreeva is set to become the third-youngest player this century to reach the top three of WTA rankings for the first time.
Do you know?
Zheng sets these records
As per Opta, only Madison Keys at the Australian Open 2025 (87) has dropped more games than Zheng at the China Open 2026 (78) en route to claim a WTA level title in the Open Era. Zheng is the first Chinese player to claim the China Open since the reinauguration of the tournament in 2004.