“I feel a little bit pity,” Qinwen Zheng talks through her eleventh-hour loss at the hands of Aryna Sabalenka at the Australian Open finals

The Chinese expressed her hope of playing more such Grand Slam finals in the future.

“I feel a little bit pity,” Qinwen Zheng talks through her eleventh-hour loss at the hands of Aryna Sabalenka at the Australian Open finals

Aryna Sabalenka, Qinwen Zheng (Image via X)

Qinwen Zheng faced a heartbreaking defeat in the Australian Open final, at the hands of Aryna Sabalenka. The World No. 2, who has not lost a set in the tournament, clinched her second Grand Slam trophy, winning in straight sets with a scoreline of 6-3, 6-2 at the Rod Laver Arena on Saturday (January 27).

After beating Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska, Zheng secured herself a berth in the final for the first time at a Grand Slam stage. Sabalenka, on the other hand, reached a Grand Slam final three times, winning in two, as the defeat came in 2023 at the US Open from Coco Gauff. 

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Following her win, Zheng congratulated her for the incredible game she played against her.

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Congrats to Aryna for having such a wonderful match here. It’s my first final. I feel a little bit of pity, but that’s how it is. It’s an experience for me.
Zheng said at the trophy ceremony

The Chinese then expressed her hope of playing more such Grand Slam finals in the future.

I feel a bit complicated right now. I feel I could have done better, but I didn’t in this match. Thanks to my team for helping me get here. I really enjoyed playing in this Australian Open. That was amazing to me. I’m sure there will be more and better in the future.
Zheng added

Aryna Sabalenka wonders if she should talk about her family after winning over Qinwen Zheng in the final

After collecting her second Australian Open trophy, Aryna Sabalenka expressed her happiness after winning the title again and thanked her team and the fans at the trophy ceremony.

Qinwen Zheng
Qinwen Zheng, Aryna Sabalenka (Image via x)

The 25-year-old also joked that, as always, her speech would be weird, claiming that delivering speeches is not her superpower.

At one point, she opened up about her family and said that she doesn’t usually talk about her family at the trophy ceremony. The Belarusian then stopped and hilariously said someone needed to translate what she was saying into English because her family didn’t understand the language.

Should I keep speaking in English because they're not going to understand me? Well, someone will translate.
Sabalenka at the trophy ceremony

En route to her second Australian Open trophy, the World No. 2 knocked out Ella Seidel, Brenda Fruhvirtova, Lesia Tsurenko, Amanda Anisimova, Barbora Krejcikova, and Coco Gauff before defeating Qinwen Zheng in the final.

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