--- title: "Zheng Qinwen advances to US Open fourth round New York; Six-match winning streak since qualifying" sdDatePublished: "2026-09-07T13:50:00Z" source: "https://www.olympics.com/en/news/us-open-2026-zheng-qinwen-olympic-tennis-champion-rare-qualifying-run" topics: - name: "tennis" identifier: "medtop:20001085" - name: "sport event" identifier: "medtop:20001108" - name: "Olympic Games" identifier: "medtop:20001177" - name: "sport achievement" identifier: "medtop:20001301" - name: "sport" identifier: "medtop:15000000" locations: - "New York" - "Shiyan" - "Cincinnati" - "China" - "United States" - "Poland" --- Zheng Qinwen advances to US Open fourth round New York; Six-match winning streak since qualifying US Open 2026: Zheng Qinwen, the Olympic champion reignited by belief and a rare qualifying run US Open 2026: Zheng Qinwen, the Olympic champion reignited by belief and a rare qualifying run After dropping out of the world's top 100, the Paris 2024 gold medallist has made a statement run at Flushing Meadows. On the brink of defeat, Zheng Qinwen does not give up. The Olympic champion has had a torrid time with injury since she clinched a famous gold medal at Paris 2024 . The Chinese tennis superstar missed large chunks of the 2025 season with an elbow injury and dropped out of the world’s top 100. With no Grand Slam match win since last June and a low ranking, Zheng had to play in the US Open qualifiers for the first time, only the second time in her career that she has had to go through qualifying at a major (after the 2022 Australian Open). Was it a blessing in disguise? Qualifying gives players a chance to build rhythm over three matches before the main draw, and the 23-year-old is now on a six-match winning streak and back in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows for the first time in two years. “When I decided not to play Cincinnati and make a block of training with my team, I accepted that I actually need to play US Open [qualifiers],” Zheng said in her post-match press conference on Saturday (5 September), having just upset 22nd seed Madison Keys in round three. She added, “We've been working really hard before the US Open to try to [get] a good result here. But I actually never think about the result because I just want to fight every single match and put the energy in each match… after this block of training, I felt I really came back stronger, physically and also mentally.” Zheng is not one to throw in the towel, even when she was 5-0 down in the third set and had to salvage a match point at 5-1. She went on to win seven straight games against Keys for an almighty 1-6, 7-6(3), 7-5 comeback victory in New York City. US Open: Iva Jovic rises to the occasion to announce arrival at Arthur Ashe Stadium - “It took literally everything” Test your tennis knowledge with our US Open trivia quiz! US Open 2026 – Zheng Qinwen back to her competitive self The circumstances of Zheng’s third-round triumph provided one of the biggest shocks of recent Grand Slam history. To be 5-0 down in the decider, let alone against a recent Slam winner on home soil, is an almost insurmountable obstacle. For Zheng, almost was enough reason to keep fighting. Her refusal to concede was reminiscent of her breakthrough 2024 campaign, where the Shiyan native reached the Australian Open final and became Olympic champion in Paris. The former world No. 4, who is currently ranked No. 121, is guaranteed a return to at least 80th in the rankings. Could she go all the way? The only player to go from the qualifiers to the US Open title was Emma Raducanu in 2021. “After coming back from injury, I didn't compete," Zheng explained. "I lost that energy and I forgot how to compete. I had a lot of emotions when I was playing the qualifiers. I was even crying after I won the third match to reach the main draw. “The main draw is just the beginning where all the players start - that's just my beginning. I fought so hard just to start like everyone else, and for me, that was really not easy.” Zheng has an intriguing round of 16 matchup against a player she knows well. Iga Świątek has a 13-1 record on the U.S. hard court swing and lifted the US Open back in 2022. The Polish star has won seven of the pair's eight meetings – the exception coming at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where Zheng shocked the pre-tournament favourite in the semi-finals at Stade Roland-Garros, and they both ended up on the podium together. Can the People's Republic of China player pull off another upset and reach her third US Open quarter-final? Whatever the outcome, Zheng has certainly rediscovered who she is: an Olympic champion capable of still competing at the top. 24 August - 13 September Tennis | US Open | New York | United States