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

WUHAN, China—Zheng Qinwen is enjoying a homecoming unlike any other at the Dongfeng Voyah Wuhan Open, her hometown tournament.

Before her press conference ended with enthusiastic applause from the local journalists, the reigning Olympic champion opened up about the celebrity that has accompanied her breakthrough 2024 season.

“I can feel the passion already when I'm walking on the street,” she said on Tuesday, which also happened to be her 22nd birthday. “Once they recognize me, everybody starts to came around asking me signature, asking the photos.

“I saw there is picture of me everywhere,” she added. “I mean, yes, that's insane!”

It's a good thing that people are watching me, watching me to improve. But you cannot live under the eyes of other people, so there's a balance you need to strike. Zheng Qinwen

But not too surprising given the breadth of Zheng’s success: after starting the year with a first Grand Slam final, she stormed to the top of the podium at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, stunning world No. 1 Iga Swiatek en route.

“Of course, there is pressure,” said Zheng, who comes to Wuhan at a career-high ranking of No. 7. “I'm also feeling the responsibility as a leader of the new generation, meaning what you are saying is under public scrutiny. I will pay attention to my performance on court as well as my words off court. I need to be cautious. It's not like I can say whatever I want to say.

“It's a good thing that people are watching me, watching me to improve. But you cannot live under the eyes of other people, so there's a balance you need to strike.”

Zheng has seemed to find that balance so far, carrying her Olympic momentum into a second consecutive US Open quarterfinal. Kicking off her Asian Swing campaign in Beijing, she reached the semifinals—by far her best result in her home country.

After presiding over the WTA 1000 event’s opening ceremonies on Monday, she will compete in Wuhan for the first time since 2019, when she accepted a qualifying wild card as a 16-year-old but lost to former Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova.

“The first time with professional tennis players, I was very excited,” Zheng recalled. “I thought the opponent was as strong as me, but I was too excited, too nervous. There were a lot of errors on my part.

“When I was facing professional players, I thought they were playing fast. On court it wasn't as fast as expected. It was five years ago. I am a different player now.”

That may be the understatement of the week. As the No. 5 seed, she will play her first match against Romanian wild card Jaqueline Cristian, who she beat for the first time in Palermo earlier this summer.

“It's not that important who you're facing,” she said. “I need to focus on myself because it's really hard to control. I need to be myself the best to perform the best.”

Asked to give a message to young players, Zheng took on her new leadership role with aplomb, speaking candidly of a nomadic childhood that kept her from forming close bonds with her classmates.

“To those children who are practicing tennis, I hope that you can enjoy your time in elementary school because that's a time when winning is not that important, just enjoy tennis.”