Zheng Jie hit the headlines around the world when she defeated World No1 Ana Ivanovic at Wimbledon.
The 25-year-old Sichuan girl injured her ankle badly at the French Open in 2007, which excluded her from any further tournaments that year and led to her world ranking dropping to 133.
That low ranking prevented her from directly qualifying for the main draw of the Wimbledon ladies' singles. She was given a wild card and started an amazing adventure in the tournament.
She defeated seeded Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova in the first round, then Britain's Elena Baltacha in the second. She then went on to defeat Ivanovic in the third round, dominating the match relentlessly and winning 6-1, 6-4.
Although she was knocked out by former world No1 Serena Williams in the semi-final, her great performance impressed the world. She became the first Chinese woman ever to reach the semi-finals of a Grand Slam singles tournament.
Her world ranking soared to 39.
