Zheng Qinwen of China Claims First WTA 500 Title at 2023 Zhengzhou Open
Zheng battled Barbora Krejčíková of the Czech Republic in the final.
Zheng Qinwen, 21, of China defeated Barbora Krejčíková, 27, of the Czech Republic to claim the Women’s Singles title at the 2023 Zhengzhou Open in Zhengzhou, China (a WTA 500 event). The score in the final was 2-6, 6-2 and 6-4 in favor of Zheng.
This was the first match Krejčíková and Zheng have ever played against each other on the WTA Tour. Today’s victory is the second title Zheng has won on the 2023 WTA Tour and the second title of her career in single’s competition. Furthermore, this is the first 500-level title she has won - making this the biggest victory of her career to date.
Heading into this tournament, Krejčíková was ranked as the Number 18 tennis player on the 2023 WTA Tour, while Zheng carried the Number 24 designation. By winning in Zhengzhou, Zheng has received 470 points in the overall rankings. Meanwhile, Krejčíková has picked up 305 points.
Karolína Plíšková of the Czech Republic (No. 36) was the tournament’s reigning champion when the event was last held in September 2019. However, she opted not to compete at any tournament this week.
The Zhengzhou Open allowed the top four seeded players to advance directly to the second round - which applied to Krejčíková. She arrived in the final after winning against Petra Martić of Croatia (No. 45), Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine (No. 43), and Daria Kasatkina of Russia (No. 12).
In the other half of the main draw, Zheng defeated Kateryna Volodko of Ukraine (No. 267), Maria Sakkari of Greece (No. 6), Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine (No. 28), and Jasmine Paolini of Italy (No. 31).
The revised rankings for the 2023 WTA Tour will be officially released on Monday, October 16. The tour will then play three tournaments from October 16 to 22: the Jiangxi Open in Nanchang, China (a WTA 250 event), the Transylvania Open in Cluj-Napoca, Romania (a WTA 250 event), and the Jasmin Open in Monastir, Tunisia (a WTA 250 event). All three events will be played on hard courts.
Rebecca Peterson of Sweden (No. 93) is the reigning champion at the Jiangxi Open when the event was last held in September 2019. She isn’t competing at any event this week. Meanwhile, Anna Blinkova of Russia (No. 37) is the reigning champion at the Transylvania Open. She has opted to compete at Jiangxi instead this year as the tournament’s sixth seed. And finally, Elise Mertens of Belgium (No. 41) is the reigning champion at the Jasmin Open. She’s looking to defend the title as the tournament’s second seed this year.