Wildcard Zheng Qinwen beats Andreeva to become first Chinese winner of the China Open

Zheng Qinwen fell to the court in tears after an ace on her first match point. The Olympic champion, playing her home event as a wildcard, beat French Open champion Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-4 in the China Open final in Beijing on Sunday to become the first Chinese woman to win the title.

It was Zheng’s first trophy since Tokyo in October 2024, her first at WTA 1000 level and the sixth of her career. The final lasted one hour and 43 minutes.

How the final turned

Andreeva, the fourth seed, broke early to lead 2-0 and had the better of the opening set. Zheng levelled, but at the end of the set she faced three set points in the 10th game. She saved all three and then won the next 11 points in a row to take the set 7-5.

The second set was tighter. The two traded early breaks, and Zheng broke again in the ninth game to lead 5-4. A double fault briefly threatened the finish before she closed it out with an ace to Andreeva’s backhand side.

Andreeva had won their only previous meeting. She said the Chinese player had served well and that she herself “missed a lot of returns” by going for too much.

For sure today she played great. It’s also very nice to see her playing better and coming back.

From No. 160 to champion

Zheng, 24, has been ranked as high as No. 4. In 2024 she made the Australian Open final and won Olympic gold at Roland Garros. Then came elbow surgery in 2025 and almost six months out, and by the middle of this season her ranking had fallen to No. 160.

The comeback began in August, when she reached the US Open quarter-finals as a qualifier, beating Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek. She arrived in Beijing ranked 54th, the lowest-ranked champion of the event since it was relaunched in 2004 and the first wildcard to win it in that time.

Her week was rarely easy. Her first four matches, against opponents including Anna Kalinskaya, Marie Bouzkova and Alina Charaeva, all went to a third set. She then beat sixth seed Elina Svitolina in the quarter-finals and Elise Mertens 7-5, 6-2 in the semi-finals. Andreeva reached the final by beating Nikola Bartunkova 6-2, 6-2.

According to the WTA, Zheng dropped 78 games on her way to the title, the most by any champion at this level since 1990. The previous mark was 66, by Belinda Bencic in Toronto in 2015.

At the trophy ceremony she spoke in English to the crowd, and also sang a pop song for them.

When I was at the lowest moment, everyone was saying I couldn’t come back.

“Honestly after winning this title, I felt like finally I achieve it,” she said, adding that she was “so hungry” for what lies ahead.

What’s next

Zheng will return to the top 30 when the rankings are updated. Andreeva, 19, rises to a career-high No. 3 despite the defeat, making her the third-youngest woman this century to reach the top three, after Maria Sharapova and Kim Clijsters.

Neither will play in Wuhan this week. Zheng withdrew from the Wuhan Open with a right shoulder injury. “My body is feeling very fatigued after this intense run of matches,” she said in a statement. She is entered for the Japan Open in Osaka, from 19 to 25 October. Andreeva cited a change in her schedule.