Zheng Qinwen’s 2026 US Open journey was a “miracle run” that began in qualifying and was filled with dramatic comebacks. She ultimately stopped in the quarterfinals, matching her best-ever US Open result.
Zheng won seven straight matches from qualifying to reach the main-draw quarterfinals. Here is a round-by-round breakdown of the scores and key performances:
Qualifying (Three Wins to Reach the Main Draw)
Qualifying First Round: Defeated You Xiaodi 6-3, 6-2. In an all-Chinese derby, she won in straight sets.
Qualifying Second Round: Beat Burel 6-1, 7-5. She eliminated the French player in two sets to reach the final qualifying round.
Qualifying Final Round: Defeated Pridankina 6-4, 3-6, 6-0. The match was interrupted by thunderstorms; in the resumption, she delivered a bagel in the deciding set to advance strongly.
Main Draw (Four Wins to Reach the Quarterfinals)
Main Draw First Round: Came back to beat Lituova 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. After a three-set battle, she reversed the 16-year-old Russian rising star, earning her first Grand Slam main-draw win in 15 months.
Main Draw Second Round: Defeated Putintseva 6-4, 2-6, 6-1. Another three-set fight, this time against the Kazakh player, sending her into the round of 32.
Main Draw Third Round: Stunning comeback against Keys 1-6, 7-6(3), 7-5. Trailing 0-5 in the deciding set and saving match point, she won seven straight games to upset the No. 22 seed and home favorite Keys. The US Open official website called it “arguably the comeback of the year.”
Main Draw Fourth Round: Defeated Swiatek 7-5, 6-3. Against the No. 8 seed Swiatek, an opponent she had previously beaten only once in eight meetings, she again came back from 0-5 down in the first set, winning seven consecutive games and then taking the match in straight sets to reach the US Open quarterfinals for the third time in her career.
Quarterfinals (Stopped in the Last Eight)
Quarterfinal: Lost to Rybakina 6-3, 1-6, 4-6. Facing the eventual champion and No. 2 seed Rybakina, Zheng took the first set but was then reversed, ending her run in the quarterfinals.
The first set Zheng won was the first set Rybakina lost in the tournament, and the only set she dropped before the semifinals. Before that, Rybakina had won all four of her previous matches in straight sets 2-0, without losing a set. After reaching the quarterfinals, Rybakina was not entirely dominant either: in the semifinals against Gauff, she lost the first set before coming back; in the final against Sabalenka, she also dropped the second set. Therefore, Rybakina lost 3 sets in the entire tournament—one each to Zheng Qinwen, Gauff, and Sabalenka.
Despite stopping in the quarterfinals, Zheng’s performance far exceeded expectations. She became the first qualifier to reach the US Open women’s singles quarterfinals since Emma Raducanu in 2021. Through this run, she earned 470 ranking points and abou
