China’s Zheng Qinwen claims the women’s singles title at the 2026 China Open on October 11, 2026, defeating Russia’s Mirra Andreeva in the final. Playing in front of her home crowd, the Paris Olympic champion delivered a resilient performance to capture her maiden WTA 1000 title. Photo: Cui Meng/Global Times

China’s tennis ace Zheng Qinwen said she was hungry for more achievements in her career after becoming the first Chinese player to win the China Open women's singles title on Sunday, describing the triumph as a first step toward realizing her potential.

“I achieved something that I never achieved before when I was at my 21 years old. I was Olympic gold medalist, that's amazing, but still there's lot of things I never achieve yet. I want to achieve all of them,” Zheng told the Global Times after defeating fourth-seeded Russian Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-4 in the China Open women’s singles final. 

“I'm really happy I made the first steps. For me there's still more to come. I'm so hungry honestly for what's going to come in the next of my career because I know my potential, and I don't want to have a regret the day that I retire from tennis. I just want to give everything that I have in the tennis career.”

The 23-year-old, who won Olympic gold at the Paris 2024 Games, claimed her first WTA 1000 title after a challenging period marked by an elbow injury and surgery in 2025. 

She said the victory represented another milestone after people repeatedly asked how she could surpass her achievements in 2024.

“I know my potential, and I don't want to have a regret the day that I retire from tennis. I just want to give everything that I have in my tennis career,” she said.

Zheng recalled how she struggled for around six months after returning from injury, at times feeling as though she had forgotten how to compete. The difficult period, however, taught her to cope with outside criticism and rediscover her motivation.

“When I was at the lowest moment, everyone was saying I couldn't come back. Everyone had doubts about me,” she said. “Finally, after going through many losses, I found my fire again when I'm playing competitive matches.”

“Tennis is not just about hitting the balls, it's also about how much you want to win,” she noted.

The victory also carried special significance given her experience at last year's China Open, where elbow problems forced her to retire from her match against Czech player Linda Noskova. 

This time, she approached the tournament one match at a time rather than expecting to reach the final, let alone win the title. Across seven matches in 11 days, she said she had to contend not only with her opponents but also with her own doubts and weaknesses.

“I need to be aggressive, but also need to control my errors. At critical moments, I cannot be soft,” Zheng said, adding that she was pleased to have taken her opportunities at crucial moments in Beijing.

For Zheng, the experience of overcoming setbacks has also reshaped how she views a slump. She said she had initially expected her difficulties to last only a month or two, rather than six months.

“I learned to coexist with myself, to not be disrupted by those voices. All of those things make me stronger,” she said.