Qinwen Zheng withdraws from two tournaments after another injury setback
NewsSaturday, 04 October 2025 at 18:28
Chinese fans have been left very disappointed after Qinwen Zheng withdrew from two upcoming tournaments on home soil.
Zheng has emerged as China's most significant star during the last few years. She received incredible support during last year's China Open and Wuhan Open. Aryna Sabalenka defeated her in the Wuhan final.
Uncertainty surrounded whether Zheng would compete at any of 2025's tournaments in China. The 2024 Olympic Gold Medalist did not play at any North American events in July, August, and September because of a severe elbow injury.
Zheng ultimately appeared at the 2025 China Open, but had to retire in the third set of her contest against the eventual finalist Linda Noskova, who stunningly saved three match points in her semifinal against Jessica Pegula.
The 22-year-old suffered an elbow setback against Noskova. Sadly, that led to her withdrawal from the 2025 Wuhan Open, which begins on Monday. She revealed the disappointing news in a video on social media.
"Since last year's Wuhan Open final, I've been looking forward to returning to my hometown and playing my best tennis in front of you all. Unfortunately, my body hasn't fully recovered to its best shape. After consulting doctors and discussing with my team, I sadly have to withdraw from this year's Wuhan Open."
In addition, Zheng announced she also cannot play at the 2025 Ningbo Open, scheduled from October 13th to 19th. The tournament's social media pages shared a video from Zheng, and wished her well in her recovery efforts.
"Hey everyone, this is Qinwen Zheng. After discussing with my doctor and my team, I have to pull out of this year's Ningb Open. I reallty hope to be back in Ningbo next year. Wishing this year's tournament a great success."
Zheng also withdrew from the 2024 Ningbo Open because of fatigue after reaching the final in Wuhan the previous week. Tournament organizers will hope that the 2026 iteration is third time lucky.
Currently, last year's WTA Finals runner-up Zheng is on the 2025 Japan Open entry list, a tournament scheduled from October 20th to 26th. However, at this stage, cutting her season short and preparing for 2026 seems likely.
The 2025 Wuhan Open promises to be a terrific tournament
Next week's Wuhan Open will be boosted by Aryna Sabalenka's return. The WTA world No. 1 has not competed since winning the US Open women's singles titles after withdrawing from the China Open.
Sabalenka has won the last three Wuhan Open editions. Her run to glory last year included beating Coco Gauff in the semifinal, a match where the American hit an astounding 21 double faults across three sets.
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Gauff will try to shake off the disappointment of being thrashed 1-6, 2-6 by Amanda Anisimova in the China Open semifinal. She was the defending champion in Beijing, but got overwhelmed by her compatriot's firepower.
Iga Swiatek's hopes of overtaking Sabalenka before 2025 ends suffered a setback after a China Open round of 16 loss against Emma Navarro. The race is still alive, though, and she will try to close the gap by playing well in Wuhan.
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