Wildcard Zheng Qinwen beats Andreeva to her first WTA 1000 title in Beijing

The last point was an ace. Zheng Qinwen dropped onto the hard court of the Diamond arena, in tears of joy. A wildcard from the China Open organisers, ranked 54th in the world, she beat Mirra Andreeva, the fourth seed, 7-5, 6-4 in Beijing on Sunday, in one hour and 42 minutes. Her first WTA 1000, her sixth WTA title, the first since Tokyo in October 2024: two lean years for an Olympic champion. She is the first Chinese player to win the China Open.

The draw had lost its top two seeds before the quarter-finals: Elena Rybakina in the first round, Aryna Sabalenka in the third.

Twice 2-0 down, twice turned around

Andreeva began each set two games up, and lost both. At 5-5 in the first, her errors gave away the decisive break; Zheng saved three set points along the way. In the second, the break came late, and the ace to close the match followed. Andreeva had left only four games to Nikola Bartunkova in her semi-final (6-2, 6-2); Zheng had beaten Elise Mertens 7-5, 6-2 in 92 minutes.

From elbow surgery to a fifth Grand Slam

The title comes after two hard seasons. Operated on her elbow in July 2025, just after a first-round exit at Wimbledon, Zheng had slipped outside the world’s top 150 in June. She had found her feet again at the US Open in September, beaten in the quarter-finals by Elena Rybakina after seven wins out of qualifying. In Beijing she records her 14th career win against a top-10 player, and returns to the top 30 on Monday. She said it after her semi-final: “The China Open treats me really well. It’s like the fifth Grand Slam for me.”

Andreeva into the world’s top three on Monday

The defeat does not stop Andreeva: on Monday she becomes world No. 3, her best ranking. At 19, she stands on six titles, three this season in Adelaide, Linz and Roland Garros, and on two wins, two defeats in WTA 1000 finals: Dubai and Indian Wells won, Madrid and Beijing lost.