10 years after Li Na, China’s Zheng Qinwen is on the verge of history again in Wuhan 

WUHAN, China—As top seed and two-time champion Aryna Sabalenka addressed the crowd after reaching the Dongfeng Voyah Wuhan Open final, one of her comments turned heads in China and beyond.

After acknowledging her defeated opponent Coco Gauff, gushing about the tournament organization and saluting the crowd for their enthusiastic support, Sabalenka said with a grin: “Thank you Qinwen for winning the gold medal!”

It’s not often that a player gives her potential opponent that kind of shoutout ahead of a big match, but it’s been the prevailing sentiment all week long at the Wuhan event—which has secured its dream final as Sabalenka will meet No. 5 seed and national hero Zheng Qinwen on Sunday.

Read More: Birthday girl Zheng Qinwen basks in star-studded homecoming at Wuhan Open

Zheng, only the second Chinese player to reach the semifinals in Wuhan after Wang Qiang, had to fight past the third player to do so on her way to her first WTA 1000 final, defeating her countrywoman Wang Xinyu 6-3, 6-4.

“Now at the age of 22, being a finalist at the 1000 level, especially in Wuhan, this is a really big surprise. With this achievement, I'm really happy,” she told press on Saturday. “For the final tomorrow, I have a tough opponent. Everyone knows she's really tough.”

Even before the championship match was confirmed, tournament organizers had already announced it will be a sellout as 13,000 people prepare to pack the Optics Valley International Tennis Center in hopes of witnessing another milestone in Chinese tennis history: The first domestic player to win a WTA 1000 event since Li Na’s 2012 victory in Cincinnati.

With her Olympic gold medal victory in Paris, Zheng set off a second wave of interest in back home, and triggered a bit of ‘Qinwen Mania’ as she returned to her home city. Zheng was born in nearby Shiyan and grew up in Wuhan, were she also trained as a junior inspired by two-time Grand Slam winner Li—who shares the same hometown.

Li’s victories at the 2011 French Open and 2014 Australian Open galvanized the region—a young Zheng was famously watching on TV—but the woman who started it all never got the chance to compete in Wuhan.

The city was added to the tennis calendar in 2014 as a part of the WTA Tour’s strategic push into Asia, in the wake of her second major win in Melbourne. But instead of a fairytale homecoming, Li announced her retirement from professional tennis due to knee injury and was feted with an emotional retirement ceremony.

“I believe China's tennis enjoys a bright future,” Li told press here in 2014. “I don't want to draw comparisons between other tennis players and me, because everyone comes from a different background with different processes of growing up. But I believe that China's tennis will get better in the future.”

Ten years later, Zheng has flourished as the new face of Chinese tennis. Far from satisfied to simply walk in her idol’s footsteps, she’s determined to claim new milestones that even Li never reached.

Zheng, who reached the Australian Open final this year, became the first tennis player from Asia to win a singles Olympic gold medal, and is now the first Chinese player to feature at a WTA 1000 in China since the format was first introduced in 2009.

“It's totally different pressure,” Zheng said, comparing her experience in Paris to her own homecoming in Wuhan. “I started to have pressure two days before Olympic Games starts.

“Every day was so intense. I remember in the quarterfinal, semifinal, my hands were shaking during the match. After Olympic Games, I never had those feelings anymore. My hand is not shaking during the match, at least. It's funny.”

“I still have some pressure here, but I will consider much less pressure,” she added, smiling. “It's more under control.”

Read More: Zheng Qinwen becomes first athlete, male or female, to cover Vogue China

Off the court, her influence is growing too. Zheng recently became the first athlete to feature on the cover of Vogue China for its November issue, and tennis centers across the country have seen a boost in participation that paralells her rise.

The Wuhan native will have the crowd firmly on her side as she faces Sabalenka in the final, with the chance of redemption—and revenge.

Chinese social media users often refer to Sabalenka as “the mountain that Zheng has yet to climb.” The 22-year-old indeed trails the Belarusian 0-3 in their head-to-head, with all of their matches coming at the Grand Slam level. Zheng has not won a set against the three-time Grand Slam winner, falling 6-1, 6-2 in their most recent meeting at this year’s US Open semfinals after being simliarly routed in the Australian Open final, 6-3, 6-2.

Whether or not she scales the mountain on Sunday, Zheng has already taken Chinese tennis to new heights since her 2019 debut on these courts.

“When I was 16, I was in the Wuhan Open with a wild card,” she recalled. “The first time with professional tennis players. I was very excited. I thought the opponent (Svetlana Kuznetsova) was as strong as me, but I was too excited, too nervous. …

“It was five years ago. I am a different player now.”