Zheng spoke of accepting the uncomfortable realities of life in the spotlight, and of understanding that even the most painful stretches of a career can serve a purpose.
“A slump is not necessarily a bad thing,” she said. “I would not be able to directly tell you what I’ve learned, but I can show you through my tennis.”
The Fire Is Back
Perhaps the most revealing moment of Zheng’s press conference came when she described just how disconnected she had felt from the sport after returning from injury.
“When I was at the lowest moment, everyone is saying, like, I couldn’t come back. Everyone has doubt about me,” she said.
“I couldn’t answer because I felt like I just forgot how to compete after coming back from injure.”
It took losses, patience and soul-searching for Zheng to rediscover the competitive fire that once carried her to Olympic glory in Paris.
“Finally after through many losses, I find my fire again when I’m playing the competition match,” she said. “Like I always said, tennis is not just about hitting the balls, it’s also about how much you want to win.”
Still Hungry for More
For all the satisfaction of winning her first WTA 1000 title, Zheng made it abundantly clear that Beijing is a beginning, not a destination.
There is an unmistakable exuberance to her ambition, a sense that the hardships of the last year have only sharpened her appetite for what lies ahead.
“I’m really happy I made the first steps. For me there’s still more to come,” she said.
“I’m so hungry honestly for what’s going to come in the next of my career because I know my potential, and I don’t want to have a regret the day that I retire from tennis. I just wants to give everything that I have in the tennis career.”
Zheng Qinwen has rediscovered her tennis, but perhaps more importantly, she’s rediscovered the hunger that made her special in the first place.
And if she has her way, the history she made in Beijing will be just the beginning.
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