Zheng Qinwen claims maiden WTA 1000 title at China Open

Beijing, October 11 (IANS) China's Zheng Qinwen captured the women's singles title at the 2026 China Open on Sunday, defeating fourth-seeded Russian Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-4 in the final to claim her maiden WTA 1000 crown before breaking down in tears during an emotional celebration on home soil."The feeling is incredible. Winning here in Beijing, in front of my home crowd, has always been one of my dreams," Zheng said after the match.The victory also made Zheng the first Chinese player to win the singles title at the China Open, reported Xinhua."Today's match was extremely tough. Mirra is a great player, and she broke my serve right at the start," Zheng said. "I just had to take it one point at a time and keep telling myself to hang in there and never give up. After playing so many matches, I was physically and mentally exhausted. But playing in front of my home crowd gave me that extra strength to keep pushing through.""I want to congratulate Mirra on her outstanding achievement at Roland Garros this year. I never had a chance to congratulate you in person, so I want to do that now. Congratulations on reaching the final this week as well. You are such a young and talented player, and congratulations to you and your team on everything you've achieved," she added.Since winning Olympic gold at the Paris 2024 Games, a persistent right elbow injury has disrupted Zheng's career and required surgery in July 2025. Her ranking subsequently fell from a career-high No. 4 in 2024 to as low as No. 160 in mid-June 2026."I want to thank my team for supporting me throughout this journey. I've been through a very tough year, and I couldn't have done this without you. Last but not least, I want to thank all the sponsors, the referees, and all the staff who have worked so hard throughout the week. And thank you to all the fans for your incredible support. This title belongs to all of you, too!"The victory earned Zheng 1,000 ranking points and 1,151,380 U.S. dollars in prize money, lifting her to No. 23 in the live WTA rankings.