Qinwen Zheng’s heroics at the Australian Open earlier this year made her a household name in China. Adding more colors to her incredible 2024 season, was her recent title triumph in the Palermo Ladies Open. And now, after becoming the first-ever Asian gold medalist in the women’s singles event at the Olympics, she has become the talk of the town. However, there is concerning news coming out of the Chinese camp at the moment. She admitted that she’s not feeling “100 percent” ahead of her first match in Cincinnati. What happened to her and why was she looking a bit concerned during her pre-match interview?

Well, the 21-year-old Chinese tennis star has been drawn against Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the R32 at the Cincinnati Masters. But before the ball starts rolling at the Grandstand on August 16, Friday,  Zheng admitted on Wednesday, “I was ready, honestly, three days ago. Then after that, the flu hit me a bit. I got a bit of sickness.” While she said that she didn’t know how she felt sick all of a sudden, Zheng guessed a potential reason. “I don’t know why maybe because of travel, I took a fly in the airplane.” 

According to her, “I wouldn’t say I’m 100 percent there. I mean, my mental (strength) was 100% ready, but my physical needs to wait…I need more time to be prepared and I wish I can be recovered by tomorrow, but let’s see.” Zheng reached the R16 last time at this event, falling short to World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in a three setter. But with this update, her fans are now hoping that she gets fit quickly and capitalizes the most of this winning run at the American hard-court swing.

This season has been pretty much extraordinary for this tennis player. So far, she has managed to secure a win-loss record of 30-12. Her incredible form has brought in the expectations of 1.4 Billion people. No matter where she plays, there is always going to be added pressure on her from now onwards. Can she become the next Li Na? 

“Li Na was an inspiration for me” – Qinwen Zheng

During an earlier interview, Zheng revealed that her father always kept the Olympics above the Grand Slam events. Now, she secured a gold medal for her nation at Paris this year. This win has in turn, given her an identity among the masses across the world. Everyone wants to see her win. Will she win in Cincinnati? Time will tell, but playing at these big matches has helped her gain experience. This experience has taught her about the importance of having a “good mindset” to fend off the pressures that come automatically with being one of the Top 10 players. 

She now wants to use these pressures as a weapon to excel further in her career. Talking about handling the pressure of her countrymen, well no one did it as well as her compatriot, Li Na, the two-time Grand Slam champion. She is now an inspiration to thousands of youngsters in China like Zheng. Reflecting her admiration for the former Chinese tennis star, Zheng said, “Li Na was an inspiration for me and I always wanted to become one of the players who could inspire young kids, to make them love tennis.“

All she wants now is to tell the youngsters to be brave and dream big. “Achieving dreams requires setting goals, but the journey will have its hardships, doubts, and sacrifices. Enjoy the process because every failure is a step towards success,” said Zheng. Now her fans are hoping she overcomes her struggle with her recent illness and comes up with more such glorious performances to end this year on the highest note.