Zheng Qinwen, the local favorite, commenced her China Open journey in Beijing on Thursday with a challenging three-set victory over compatriot Shi Han. Zheng seized the first set in a tiebreak on her fifth set point, but Shi, a qualifier aiming for her first WTA 1000-level main-draw win, rallied to take the second set 6-4.
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Zheng, currently the second-highest-ranked Chinese player on the WTA Tour behind Wang Xinyu, secured her win by breaking serve twice in the final set, concluding the match at 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-2 after 2 hours and 44 minutes.
Following the match, Zheng noted, "I think in the beginning I'm giving away too much return, free mistake. I'm going a bit too rush in both first and second set." She explained that her attempt to be aggressive led to more mistakes. In the third set, she focused on consistency before becoming more aggressive, which she identified as the key to her success.
Here are five significant statistics from Zheng’s performance:
4: This victory was Zheng's fourth of the year against players ranked outside the top 100. Her sole loss to such a player occurred at the French Open, where she lost to eventual runner-up Maja Chwalinska.
6: Zheng has won six out of seven career matches against fellow Chinese players, with her only loss against Yue Yuan at Indian Wells in 2024.
11: The win marked Zheng's 11th three-set victory of 2026, with seven of those occurring on hard courts. Zheng reflected on a pivotal moment: "When I was 5-4 down in the second set, the two unforced errors were really painful. I wasn't really placing the shots very accurately. But in the third set, I could feel that I could read the game better."
18: Zheng has now achieved 18 wins in WTA-level main draws at tournaments held in China, with only the United States (33 wins) and Italy (23 wins) accounting for more successes.
49: Thursday's win was Zheng's 49th at the WTA 1000 level, ranking her fourth among Chinese players for career match wins at this level since its inception in 2009, following Li Na, Peng Shuai, and Zhang Shuai.
Zheng is one of 12 Chinese players in this week's main draw and will next face No. 15 seed Anna Kalinskaya, a matchup in which they are currently tied 1-1 in their career head-to-head series.