Paris Olympics: Zheng Qinwen shocks Iga Swiatek to seal China’s first tennis singles medal
- World No 1 and queen of clay beaten in straight sets as Zheng storms into gold medal match
Zheng Qinwen became the first Chinese tennis player to reach an Olympic singles gold medal match as she upset world No 1 Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros.
The shock semi-final result on Thursday was the Polish top seed’s first loss at the home of clay since 2021.
Her third straight French Open title at the same venue this year – her fourth there overall – ensured she would arrive at the Paris Games as overwhelming favourite to top the podium. But she was beaten 6-2, 7-5 on Court Philippe Chatrier.
The 23-year-old had never lost to Zheng in their six past meetings, and had won her previous 20 clay-court matches.
“I feel more than just happy – happy isn’t enough to describe how I feel,” Zheng, 21, said after lying on the court to savour her win.
She took advantage of numerous Swiatek errors to win the first set, before the Pole appeared revived by a 10-minute break and quickly stretched out to a 4-0 lead in the second.