Zheng Qinwen Secured Historic Gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics with Victory Over Donna Vekic
Zheng Qinwen made history at the 2024 Paris Olympics by winning China’s first ever singles gold in tennis with victory over Donna Vekic.
Based on the rankings, Zheng emerged as the unexpected champion. In light of her desire to introduce gold to China, this was not surprising.
Rankings and past performance indicate that Zheng Qinwen is a surprise gold medallist. Top seed Iga Swiatek, who entered Roland Garros with a 35-2 record and three consecutive wins there, was predicted to take home the honor.
Nevertheless, Zheng’s push for the title in Paris shouldn’t come as a surprise at all if we consider the players’ will to succeed.
As the Games were about to start, Zheng told WTA Insider, “I think I will fight until I die.” “I will break down my body if necessary because it only happens once every four years. I am going to give the Olympic Games my all.
She defeated former Top Tenner Sara Errani 6-0, 6-0 in her first-round match shortly after making that claim. Perhaps we should have known Zheng was headed toward being the first Chinese tennis player to win a gold medal in the singles division.
Zheng accomplished her goal without having to dismember herself in the end. But on multiple occasions, she was tested to the brink of her physical and emotional endurance. She defeated Emma Navarro after saving a match point in the third round. She narrowly defeated Angelique Kerber 8–6 in a third-set tiebreaker in the quarterfinals. She overcame Swiatek in the semifinals, overcoming a 0–4 deficit in the second set to pull off the biggest upset of the competition.
This led her to the gold medal match on Saturday against Donna Vekic, an even more unexpected finalist. Who will do better under the kind of strain of a major stage match that neither of them had experienced much before was perhaps the biggest question at the start of the contest. Zheng, 21, had been in a major final at the Australian Open earlier this year, while Vekic, 28, had never played in one and had not done well. In a 6-3, 6-2 victory, Aryna Sabalenka made her appear like the newbie in the Slam final.
Who could manage things more effectively on Chatrier? It didn’t take us long to receive our response. Vekic was broken after five blunders in the second game. She was behind 0-3 by the third game. Zheng wasn’t flawless either, but she did demonstrate that she could use her serve to save break points and her strong topspin to move the ball beyond of Vekic’s strike zone. The match became an uphill battle that Vekic never quite managed to get out of due to her sluggish start.
There was always going to be a pivotal battle of the forehands. It’s the best shot for both players, and they both aim to strike it as frequently as they can in accordance with the lessons of the contemporary game. Really, the only thing Vekic could hope to do was drive her comparatively flat forehand into the corners.
However, Zheng’s more secure and topspin-heavy rendition of the stroke prevailed. She used it to score eleven winners and kept Vekic off balance with her powerful spin. Zheng had some skill at the net along the way, preventing a break point at 4-2 in the opening set with a more difficult-than-it-appeared drop volley.
Over the previous month, the Croatian had prevailed in six challenging matches, one of which was a quarterfinal victory over Marta Kostyuk (10-8 in a third-set tiebreaker). However, on Saturday, she was unable to build a comeback due to her forehand and serve, which only accounted for 47% of her initial deliveries. Late in the second set, she threw her racquet to the ground out of frustration since she could never stay on top of the rallies. She hit a few basic, but important, forehands into the net rather than driving it deep.
Zheng later admitted to NBC, “The last point, you know, I’m really nervous, my hand is shaking.” “Every match makes my body tremble.”
About her wish to return with a gold medal to her nation that loves the Olympics, she remarked, “I never felt so hungry.” “I overcame the stress,” she declared. “I achieved the maximum for myself.”
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For Zheng, the sky seemed to be the limit, or at least not far from it. She is capable of competing against anyone thanks to her blend of strength and deft ball striking. She claims that after working with coach Pere Riba for the past year, she has started to use her skills more wisely and efficiently. Thus far, consistent outcomes have been absent. Zheng didn’t make another semifinal until Palermo, right before the Games, after making it to the final in Melbourne this year. She was obviously aiming for the Olympics.
Will she soon have her sights set on a Grand Slam victory as well? In light of recent Olympic history, maybe not. The previous two gold medallists at the Olympics, Monica Puig and Belinda Bencic, were unable to advance.
However, Zheng possesses a unique combination of youth and elite talent that neither Puig nor Bencic possessed. She claims that she now knows she can handle any amount of pressure and that she will remember this victory to “cheer me up” if she ever finds herself in a difficult situation during a match. Not to mention, Zheng was 0-6 against her when she came to Paris, so she knows she can defeat Swiatek as well.
Zheng will be content for the time being with China’s first singles gold. Perhaps completing it would mean more to her than taking home a Slam trophy. After all, she was prepared to die for it.
After achieving the objective, Zheng declared, “It means everything.” “I’ve wanted to win a gold medal for my country since I was a little child—maybe not gold, just a medal.” “I’m thrilled to be making history. This sensation? Incredible.
