By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, September 7, 2026
Photo credit: Jon Buckle/ROLEX
NEW YORK—Dire deficits don’t frighten Zheng Qinwen.
Slam sinkholes only make Zheng more fearless.
Down Love-5 today, Zheng roared through seven straight games, shocking Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-3 to rally into her third US Open quarterfinal in the last four years.
When Swiatek slapped a final shot into net, Zheng collapsed behind the court in an eruption of emotion.
Qualifier Zheng, who shed tears of joy after qualifying for the main draw, is the first qualifier to reach the US Open quarterfinals since 150th-ranked Emma Raducanu made history as the first player—man or woman—to play through qualifying and win a Slam title at the 2021 Flushing Meadows major.
Put Zheng down 5-0 and face serious peril.
This is the second straight match Zheng battled back from the brink of a bagel to stun a Grand Slam champion.
Zheng was down Love-5 in the deciding set vs. 2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys when the 2017 US Open finalist completely lost the plot and unraveled. Zheng saved a match point in the sixth game against Keys sparking a seven-game run that saw her shock the American 1-6, 7-6(3), 7-5 on Grandstand.
All this from a woman who played only one tournament from July of 2025 through February of 2026 due to elbow surgery and extended rehab time.
“I would say I start the match really slow. That’s why she’s able to lead 5-0,” Zheng said. “After that, I start to play more freely, let’s say, because I think I need to try to find my rhythm at least for the second set.
“But somehow, I felt really comfortable on court, and in one moment I also lose the score, because I’m so focused to playing every single point.
“I think that’s the key for me to come back. I didn’t expect that today, but somehow it’s just happening again.”
It’s a gut-wrenching loss for Swiatek, who had won 14 of her last 15 hard-court matches, including stopping Elena Rybakina, 6-2, 6-3, to take the Toronto title last month.
The 2022 US Open champion Swiatek had high hopes for another finals run in New York and appeared well on her way to a quarterfinal return.
Then Zheng elevated her play, Swiatek struggled to find her forehand, saw her confidence crumble and dropped 13 of the final 16 games in a surprising collapse.
“For sure, I felt like I started missing too many shots, she started playing, and I let her back into the match,” Swiatek said. “No, but honestly, my focus was the same as always. I wanted to play the same as always. Just started to miss too much, wanted to adjust it, but nothing kind of worked at that point. I knew I’m going to have, you know, another chance, and I wanted to use it, but I missed them all.
“Today, I wouldn’t say it had anything to do with mentality. It was more that I started making mistakes, you know, from easy balls and Qinwen stopped doing mistakes. She played the balls better.”
Olympic gold-medal champion Zheng will play world No. 2 Elena Rybakina, who can surpass Aryna Sabalenka and seize the world No. 1 ranking by reaching the semifinals.
Australian Open champion Rybakina stopped four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, 6-1, 6-4. Rybakina ripped 7 aces against 1 double fault, won 27 of 31 first-serve points and hit 20 more winners (29 to 9) than the former No. 1.
“Of course Rybakina, she’s leading on the aces. Her serve is biggest weapon of her and it’s not easy,” Zheng said A”nd she play very flat ball also. This can makes me not so comfortable.”
Talk about Comeback Queen.
It is Zheng’s first Top 10 win since she surprised world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka at the 2025 Rome.
This resilient run in New York came after world No. 121 Zheng crashed out of Toronto qualifying in the opening round.
After that “disaster”, Zheng’s coach, Pere Riba, urged her to skip Cincinnati qualifying and commit to a complete training block in an effort to revive her game and rebuild her shattered confidence.
Hitting the practice court hard in Bradenton, Zheng and Riba laid the foundation for this revival run in New York City.
“When I lost badly in Toronto qualies, which is I play really disaster there, my coach sat down with me and we had a long talk together. He told me, You can’t continue playing like this. You need to have a training block and find your tennis again,” Zheng said. “I think about it, it just take five seconds. I say, Okay, let’s
do that.
“We decide to go to Bradenton, IMG Academy, which is to have nothing around. Just tennis, gym, and a resting place. So we have been really dedicate all the time in tennis, tennis, tennis, and training. And I remember one day that we even finished training at 8:30 in the evening when I start, like, 8:00 in the morning.
“Yeah, it was really tough, but this is how sport shows. If you don’t work hard, you don’t have it. So I’m really happy about we make together the work, and then at the end, the effort pays off.”
Today’s comeback was equally impressive given Swiatek held a 7-1 lead in their head-to-head series and was pummeling the Chinese power player building a 5-0 lead.
With nothing left to lose but the set, Zheng began stepping in, hitting flatter and challenging Swiatek’s heavy topspin forehand more frequently.
Zheng saved two set points before breaking back for 2-5 when Swiatek sailed a shot. Serving at 5-3, Swiatek attacked behind an indifferent approach and paid the price handcuffed by a challenging half volley.
On her third set point, Switek could not handle a short-angled forehand from Zheng. Then the Pole pushed a tentative backhand into net handing Zheng another break point. Taking a big cut, Zheng overhit long as Swiatek leveled at deuce.
Facing a third break point, Swiatek sprayed a forehand long as Zheng broke again for 4-5.
Burying a forehand crosscourt into the corner, Zheng leveled the set after 10 games. Swiatek, who had held a 5-1, 40-30 lead, tried to reset going up 30-Love.
Zheng smacked a head-snapping backhand down the line to draw even at 30-all. The repercussions rattled Swiatek who double faulted away the third break in a row.
Remarkably, Zheng was flying high on a six-game surge for 6-5.
Throwing down a 105 mph ace down the T, Zheng clubbed a diagonal forehand for triple set point. Zheng closed a compelling comeback set at love, stealing a one-set lead after 59 minutes.
It was the second time in the tournament, Zheng roared back from Love-5 down to take a set over a Grand Slam champion.
After Swiatek held for a 2-1 second-set lead, she took a medical timeout for treatment of an apparent thigh issue.
Ultimately, the Swiatek forehand failed her at crunch time today. Zheng repeatedly ripped crosscourt forehands to torment that wing. Zheng smacked 20 winners against 17 unforced errors and broke serve five times, including breaking three times in a row to steal the first set and scoring the final break in the last game of the match.
Down 3-5, Swiatek saved three match points on serve but sailed a shot to face a fourth match point.
Swiatek slapped a backhand into net as Zheng sealed another fairy-tale finish against a Grand Slam champion.
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