By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, October 11, 2026
Photo credit: Screen Shot
History dangled in front of Zheng Qinwen’s eyes.
The wild card hammered it with homecoming zest, unleashing ecstatic celebration in Beijing.
On championship point, Zheng slammed an ace out wide sealing a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Mirra Andreeva then crashed to the court in an eruption of joy.
Zheng hit her way into history as the first Chinese woman to win the Chinese Open championship. She is the fifth different champion in the last five years to lift the Beijing title trophy.
The world No. 54 is the first wild card and lowest-ranked woman to rule as Queen of Beijing and she did it without surrendering a set in her quarterfinal win over Elina Svitolina, semifinal conquest of Elise Mertens and final win over Andreeva.
“Feeling was incredible,” Zheng said. “To win here in Beijing in front of my home crowd is one of my dream, especially playing against Mirra, such a great player. Congratulations for such a great year.”
After this rock star performance, Zheng played pop star taking the microphone and singing to Beijing fans to conclude a festive trophy ceremony.
It’s a deeply disappointing defeat for Andreeva, who was poised to seize a one-set lead serving at 5-4, 40-15 only to see Zheng dig in and deny all three set points. That stirring stand sparked Zheng, who won 11 points in a row stamping successive shutout games to snatch a one-set lead and send Beijing fans into a sustained roar of approval.
“It’s been a very nice week playing in Beijing,” said Andreeva, who rises to a new career-high ranking of No. 3. “I thought maybe today I would hear one Go Mirra.”
Playing for her nation is inspiring fuel for Zheng, who made history at the 2024 Paris Olympics in becoming the first Chinese tennis player to capture the Olympic gold medal.
Today, Zheng’s stubborn spirit—she saved three set points when Andreeva served for the first set at 5-4—her fierce forehand and a sturdy second serve helped her win her sixth career championship despite the fact she served only 38 percent against one of the game’s most accurate returners.
Zheng hit eight more winners than Andreeva—24 to 16—and was hitting her forehand with more vigor, depth and angle on pivotal points.
The pair went toe-to-toe in a crackling crosscourt rally when Zheng drew a defensive mid-court ball, stepped in and scorched a forehand strike breaking for a 1-0 second-set lead.
Andreeva came right back, exploiting a double fault and sloppy game from the wild card, to break back in the second game.
Thumping her second ace, the woman in red thrilled home fans leveling the set after six games.
A tremendous running squash shot pass down the line helped Zheng apply pressure in the ninth game. Andreeva slapped a couple of shots into net to face break point, but spun a serve wide to save break point.
Even at deuce, Zheng unleashed a sideline to sideline sprint ending with a clean backhand pass for another break point. Andreeva cracked her sixth ace to deny it.
Though Andreeva saved a third break point with an ace, an unrelenting Zheng would not be denied.
Turning her hips and shoulders into damaging crosscourt forehands, Zheng earned another break point. The Zheng forehand was sending Andreeva off the court, coaxing a netted reply as the wild card broke for 5-4.
Serving for the championship, Zheng clanked a double fault deep to fall into a Love-30 hole.
Resetting, she smacked a diagonal forehand for 15-30 then slammed an ace out wide for 30-All. When Andreeva’s backhand down the line went long, Zheng held championship point.
Zheng slammed an ace out wide to seal it then crashed to the court flat on her back to celebrate a career peak.
This victory vaults former world No. 4 Zheng, who qualified for the US Open and reached the quarterfinals, back up to No. 23. Andreeva rises to a career-high ranking of No. 3.
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