Qinwen Zheng Aims for ‘Stronger and Healthier’ Comeback After Successful Elbow Surgery

Olympic gold medalist Qinwen Zheng recently had an arthroscopic surgery on her right elbow and is on a break now.

Qinwen Zheng Aims for ‘Stronger and Healthier’ Comeback After Successful Elbow Surgery

Qinwen Zheng (image via Instagram)

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World No. 6 Qinwen Zheng recently underwent arthroscopic surgery on her right elbow after experiencing “persistent pain” for several months. Zheng, who last played at Wimbledon, losing to Katerina Siniakova in the first round, announced on Saturday that the surgery was a success.

Her loss came amidst a shocking exit of seeded players in the first round at Wimbledon, with ten seeded WTA players losing in the opening round. She had a good grass swing ahead of Wimbledon, reaching the semifinal at the Queen’s Club Championships before having to withdraw from the Berlin Tennis Open due to a neck injury.

The Chinese tennis star is taking a short break from the WTA tour now and will be focusing on rehab and recovery during this period. She shared this news on her Instagram account along with a picture of her on a hospital bed. The viral Labubu doll and a Pikachu plushie could also be seen in this picture.

Several other tennis players are also taking a break during this period. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka withdrew from the Canadian Open due to fatigue. World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic have also announced their withdrawal from the Canadian Open. Paula Badosa is off for a while due to injury. Ons Jabeur had also recently announced an indefinite break.

At the age of 22, Zheng has made remarkable strides in her tennis career. She is only the second Chinese player to crack the top 5 rankings and is the first Asian person to win an Olympic gold medal in singles with her triumph at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Additionally she has clinched four other WTA titles.

Qinwen Zheng will most likely miss out on the US Open

During her break, Qinwen Zheng will likely miss out on many tournaments, including the US Open. Jack Draper’s announced pairing in the U.S. Open’s new-look mixed doubles event with Zheng was one of the most unusual ones but now it seems unlikely to happen.

Qinwen Zheng (via X/CGTN)
Qinwen Zheng (via X/CGTN)

With the U.S. Open mixed doubles event just four weeks away – Zheng will most likely miss it. Recently Draper also announced that he would be missing out on the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open due to an injury in the left arm. However, he hopes to be back soon for the US Open, where he made it to the semifinal last year.

The U.S. Tennis Association announced earlier that it will be re-imagining its mixed doubles event, giving singles players priority in entry and hosting the competition in the week before the main draw of singles and doubles. Some of the pairings had stirred a huge buzz such as that of Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu. Other pairings include Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud, and Emma Navarro and Jannik Sinner.

Taking place in the fan week, the mixed doubles event will feature 16 teams, with eight teams getting direct entry based on their combined singles ranking and eight wild-card entries. Its matches will be played best-of-three-sets to four games.

There will be no-ad scoring and tiebreakers will be there at four-all, and a 10-point match tiebreak will be there in place of a third set. The final will feature a best-of-three set match to six games. It will also have no-ad scoring, with tiebreakers at six-all and a 10-point match tiebreaker in place of a third set.

Also Read: Andrea Petkovic Snubs Coco Gauff, Calls Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka the ‘Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz’ of WTA Tour