Qinwen Zheng has battled unimaginable fitness concerns over the past few years, which threatened to completely derail such a promising start to her career.
Having emerged onto the scene as inarguably one of the most talented Chinese players of all time, she soon started achieving feats to back up such promise.
Deep runs in WTA 1000 and Grand Slam tournaments felt relatively regular, and culminated in her reaching the final of the Australian Open in 2024, and the Wuhan Open later that year.
Whilst she lost both matches, Qinwen Zheng was getting closer to snagging an elite honour before disaster struck.
The end of her 2025 campaign was completely marred by injury, and whilst she tried to play after elbow surgery, she had to shut it down. This past turmoil is what makes any new fitness concerns particularly worrying for the 24-year-old.
One withdrawal after a deep run can be expected, and two might just be caution taking precedence. However, to have now withdrawn from three consecutive events marks a worrying pattern emerging.
Qinwen Zheng withdraws from third consecutive event since winning the China Open
We knew that Zheng would not be playing in Wuhan, and whilst it was a shame to see her miss out on another WTA 1000 in her home country, it was no surprise.
The turnaround from that event after winning the China Open title felt difficult.
Then, when she opted out of the Tokyo Open, it could be justified.
Now, the Hong Kong Open has emerged to confirm Zheng’s latest withdrawal, as they wrote: “Meanwhile, Zheng Qinwen has unfortunately withdrawn from the tournament due to injury. We wish her a speedy recovery and hope to welcome her back to Hong Kong in 2027.”
After Zheng confirmed her absence at the Wuhan Open, she shared: “Since returning from injury, I have played a demanding stretch of tennis over the past month and a half, competing at the US Open, the Billie Jean King Cup and the China Open.
“My body is feeling very fatigued after this intense run of matches.”
It remains unclear whether this worrying pattern is a continuation of this protection against fatigue, or if something more sinister is brewing.
Zheng’s big ranking jump after winning the China Open should at least protect her if she decided to end her season now, with so few tournaments left.