Zheng Qinwen of China advanced to the semifinals of the China Open WTA 1000 in Beijing, defeating No. 6 seed Elina Svitolina with a score of 6-3, 7-6 (8-6). This marks Zheng's first tournament since her quarterfinal appearance at the US Open as a qualifier, extending her late-season success with 12 wins in her last 13 matches.

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Zheng began the match strongly, breaking Svitolina’s serve twice to take the first set 6-3. The second set was tightly contested, with both players holding serve, which led to a tiebreak. Zheng successfully converted her second match point to clinch the victory in 1 hour and 47 minutes.

In a post-match interview, Zheng expressed her satisfaction with the win, highlighting her performance. "It was a really great win for me. I think she also played her best tennis. I'm just happy to have a lot of winners during the match and to be brave in important moments," she said.

Zheng has shown resilience in her recent matches, with eight of her 12 victories coming in three sets. She attributed her success to a rigorous training block before the US Open. "What I did in that training block is still unforgettable. I needed that training block," she noted. Zheng also reflected on advice from her coach, who reminded her to stay focused despite her ranking challenges.

The win propels Zheng to her fourth career WTA 1000 semifinal and her third on home soil, having competed in Beijing and Wuhan in 2024. She is slated to return to the top 40 in the WTA rankings after previously dropping to No. 160 in June.

Zheng is the third wild-card player to reach the semifinals, following Shuai Peng in 2006 and Qiang Wang in 2018. Additionally, she joins Li Na and Peng as the only Chinese players to reach the tournament's semifinals more than once.

Next, Zheng will face the winner of the quarterfinal match between No. 8 seed Iga Swiatek and No. 13 seed Elise Mertens. Zheng has won her only previous encounter with Mertens but holds a 2-7 record against Swiatek. "No matter who I face, I'm sure they will show up with their best tennis. I'm just going to stay there and play my tennis and let's see what happens," she stated.