Qinwen Zheng continued her extraordinary US Open run as she produced a comeback from 0-5 down in a set for the second match in a row to knock out six-time grand slam champion Iga Swiatek and reach the quarter-finals.
Former Olympic champion Zheng, who defeated Swiatek in the gold medal match in Paris two years ago, had to qualify to reach the main draw of the US Open. The Chinese star missed long stretches of the 2025 season due to an elbow injury and had fallen to No 121 in the rankings.
After qualifying for the main draw and reaching the third round, Zheng trailed former Australian Open champion Madison Keys 0-5 and was match point down in the third set before winning seven consecutive games to win 1-6 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 against the American 22nd seed.
Two days later against the eighth seed and former US Open champion Swiatek, Zheng trailed 0-5 in the first yet produced the same trick, winning seven games in a row to clinch the set. She then converted the only break of serve in the second set to win 7-5 6-3 and reach the quarter-finals of the US Open for the third time.
Zheng fell onto her back after converting her fourth match point. She has now won seven matches in a row in New York. “Well, honestly, I have to say, I started the match not so well,” she said. “Little by little I found my rhythm on the center court because it’s been a long, long time. I just really appreciate it to be here in the Ashe Stadium.
”I just focused point by point and little by little I start to play better tennis, I start to find my game and in one moment I even forgot the score in the first set at 4-5. That shows how I’m focused. I guess to come back 0-5 yesterday is not lucky, that’s all I can say.
”I’m just really happy to win this match cause it’s not easy and it’s been a while really. I didn’t beat any top 10 player. I just really, really appreciated this win for me, and I want to say thank you for all the fans who come to support me today.”
For Swiatek, defeat to Zheng brought a familiar story and the former Wimbledon champion left Arthur Ashe Stadium in tears. The Pole’s error count spiralled, finishing with 28 in total. Swiatek’s last five exits from the grand slams since winning Wimbledon in 2025 have also come in straight-sets.
Zheng will play either second seed Elena Rybakina or 13th seed Naomi Osaka, the two-time US Open champion, in the quarter-finals. Earlier, French Open champion Mirra Andreeva produced her own comeback to defeat Anastasia Potapova 5-7 6-4 6-3 and reach her first US Open quarter-final.
