Zheng Qinwen bagged first-ever Olympic gold medal for China in singles tennis in Paris, beating Croatia’s Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-3 on Saturday. Zheng was the sixth seed in the 64-draw Olympic tournament. She shattered VEkic, 21st-ranked opponent, four times in the match on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
An emotional Zheng lay down on the red clay to absorb the historic moment for her country China and herself. She described the feeling as unreal. Zheng, 21, shared that she finally lived her dream of winning a gold medal at the Olympics for China.
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She dedicated the medal win to Li Na who recorded a career-high WTA ranking of World No. 2 and to the team members families and fans who supported her. Zheng highlighted that Liu Xiang won the Olympic gold medal in 2004 and he was 21 at the time, and 20 years later, in 2024, she won the gold medal for China at the same age of 21. She said it’s an unbelievable feeling.
Zheng Qinwen Shares Love for Tennis
Zheng fought every single match. She nearly lost in two matches, especially in the semi-final against Iga Swiatek, but the stars were with her and she made it through the final and clinched the gold. Zheng said she never gave up and was determined to find every single solution.
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She also touched on her love and passion for tennis, saying she always wanted to be like Li Na who was her inspiration. Zheng said tennis is a great sport, especially for girls, and one needs to fight, have strength, and be fast, but a complicated sport too.
