China’s Zheng Qinwen facing “weeks and months” of recovery after elbow surgery
Olympic champion, who crashed out of Wimbledon in the first round, says she had been battling ‘persistent pain’ for several months
Zheng Qinwen has vowed to return as a “better version of myself” after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on her right elbow, but faces months of rehab that could end her season.
The world No 6 revealed the news on social media on Saturday, sharing a picture of herself in a hospital bed, and wrote she had been experiencing “persistent pain” for several months.
The 22-year-old, who lost in the first round at Wimbledon to Katerina Siniakova for the second time in three years, had been wearing a compression sleeve on her right arm in matches since January’s Australian Open.
Before the grass-court grand slam, she pulled out of the Berlin Tennis Open with what was announced as a neck injury, and she had previously announced her withdrawal from the upcoming Mubadala Citi DC Open earlier this week.
“Over the past months, I’ve been dealing with persistent pain in my right elbow during training and matches. Despite trying various treatments to manage it, the discomfort never fully went away,” the Olympic champion said in an Instagram post.
“After consulting with elbow specialists and discussing thoroughly with my team, we decided that arthroscopic surgery was the best option to fully resolve the issue. Yesterday, I underwent the procedure successfully, and I’m grateful to have it behind me.”