BEIJING: Zheng Qinwen’s parents sold the family home to fund her tennis dreams and she is now an Olympic champion and China’s biggest sports star today. The 21-year-old is playing at home for the first time since she triumphed in Paris as the first Chinese woman to win Olympic singles gold. She did not disappoint in her opening match at the China Open, sweeping 71st-ranked Kamilla Rakhimova of Russia 6-1, 6-1 on Saturday in front of an adoring Beijing crowd. Zheng was taken aback by the atmosphere, calling it “crazy” and saying she had never seen such a packed crowd. “I was a bit shocked,” said Zheng, who trains in Barcelona and is ranked seventh in the world but is tipped to advance. Zheng has already earned more than $5 million in rewards and also has numerous endorsements from major global brands, including Nike and Rolex. Off the court, she has also appeared on the covers of GQ magazine and Harper’s Bazaar. Zheng, known as “Queen Wen” in China, has won three WTA titles and reached her first Grand Slam final of the year at the Australian Open. Defending champion Aryna Sabalenkova, who defeated the Chinese again in straight sets at the recent US Open, defeated her 6-3, 6-2. The world number two from Belarus, who won the US Open, is seeded in the Chinese capital this week and the two players are on course to meet in the semi-finals. Zheng says she is a better player now than she was in Melbourne, and with the crowd behind her, she could slow down a bit. In the third round, she will face Nadia Podoroska from Argentina. Michelle Zhang, a local fan at the China Open, whose two children play tennis, said: “We admire her for doing so much for the country.” Friend Adele Xue added: “She showed people that Chinese people can play tennis.” Zheng grew up idolizing Li Na, the Chinese pioneer who won two Grand Slam titles. With her triumph at the 2011 French Open, Li became the first player from Asia to win a major singles title. Li is from Wuhan, where Zheng moved as a child to pursue her tennis ambitions. After the China Open, Wuhan is the next stop on the WTA Tour and Zheng would like to win there. Known to be approachable and friendly off the court, Zheng is fiercely determined and competitive on it. Even as a child, she was talented in many sports and her father Zheng Jianping was an athlete. Jianping said Zheng’s interest in tennis was sparked by a trip to Beijing to watch the Olympics when she was six years old. After returning from the capital, Zheng began learning tennis and her skills were soon noticed by local talent scouts. Two years later, her father took her from their home in Shiyan to the provincial capital of Wuhan for professional training. “One of the best things about this kid is that she never gives up,” her Wuhan coach Yu Liqiao told local media. After winning Olympic gold in Paris, Zheng revealed that her father sold the family home to fund her fledgling tennis career when she was a teenager. Her mother, Deng Fang, sold train tickets at the station, but gave up her job to make sure her daughter slept and ate properly during training. Zheng was among the millions of tennis fans glued to their TVs in China to watch Li Na win the 2014 Australian Open. Zheng, then 11, was interviewed on television and confidently declared that she was aiming for the top. “I want to play in Grand Slams and fight for the championship,” she said.
