Zheng Qinwen attends Open Party ALL Accor x Roland-Garros at Royal Monceau-Raffles Paris on May 20, 2026 in Paris, France. Photo: VCG

Wang Xinyu will head into the upcoming French Open as the top-ranked Chinese player while Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen has been rebuilding her game following her elbow injury. They are among five Chinese players who have qualified for the French Open. The women's singles draw also include veteran Zhang Shuai. The men's singles will feature Zhang Zhizhen and Wu Yibing.

The second Grand Slam tennis tournament of the season will run from May 24 to June 7. 

Currently ranking world No.32, Wang reached last 16 in the Australian Open for the first time in her career in January. But her results on clay court have been disappointing this season, suffering early exits in Madrid, Rome and Strasbourg. 

If Wang can sustain her aggressive baseline game over long rallies, she may make a deep run at Roland Garros, Liu Yu, a Beijing-based sports commentator, told the Global Times. The challenge is that clay reduces some of her natural advantages. Clay court rewards patience, topspin and defensive endurance, Liu said.  

Wang will also partner with Hsieh Su-wei for the women's doubles. The pair won doubles title at Roland Garros in 2023. 

Zheng, who has dropped out of the world top 50 for the first time since August 2022, has missed out on a seeded spot at this tournament. 

However, Zheng, ranking World No.53, was listed as one of the 10 unseeded danger women players by the official website of the French Open.

Zheng owns a 10-4 lifetime record at Roland Garros and reached the quarterfinals last year. She has to be considered a force to be reckoned with, no matter the ranking, according to the website. 

Clay remains arguably Zheng's best surface. She has the firepower and athleticism to beat top 10 players on clay if she finds rhythm early in the tournament, Liu noted. 

Since her elbow surgery in July 2025, Zheng has struggled to regain her form. Her results this season so far has been inconsistent. After losing to former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the third round of Italian Open on May 10, Zheng headed straight to Paris for closed-door training.

To address Zheng's vulnerability on second serve, her coaching team conducted targeted training focused on adding greater variety to her serve placement, including wider slice serves and deep body serves, in order to reduce the chances of opponents aggressively attacking her second delivery, according to a report by Yangtze Evening News. 

At the same time, specialized movement drills tailored for clay courts, such as sliding and center-of-gravity transitions, were incorporated to improve her baseline coverage and ability to change direction during extended rallies, the report said. 

Zheng, 23, has also trained with high-level clay court players such as defending champion Coco Gauff to replicate the powerful baseline tempo of opponents including Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka, helping sharpen her endurance and consistency in long multi-shot exchanges, the report said. 

In February, Zheng added former French Open champion Albert Costa to her coaching team to help elevate her game. 

In addition to singles game, Zhang Shuai, 37, will pair up with Elise Mertens of Belgium for the doubles. The duo clinched the doubles title at the Australian Open in January. Zhang has won three doubles titles this year with three different partners.

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. life@globaltimes.com.cn