Zheng Qinwen was straight honest with Chinese reporters following her Beijing exit as the world No. 7 revealed that she was greatly impacted by the lack of sleep and that her fall occurred because she wasn’t mentally as sharp and focused as she needed to be.
In her first tournament of the year on Asian soil, the home favorite reached the semifinal and the hope was that she could land her maiden WTA 1000 title in front of her fans. But unfortunately for the 21-year-old, those dreams ended on Saturday after Karolina Muchova handed her a 6-3 6-4 defeat.
Going into the match, the expectation was that it would probably be a tight battle without much separating the two.
“Well, I’m just really tired. No energy. That’s it,” Zheng said at the beginning of her press conference.
After starting her Beijing run with back-to-back wins in two sets, the fifth-seeded Chinese tennis star was down by a set in each of her next two matches before coming back to beat Amanda Anisimova and Mirra Andreeva, respectively. The Andreeva match was particularly tough because it lasted two and a half hours and finished late.
“I think the positive thing is I know what I’m capable of doing. This match, I lacked energy and didn’t sleep well because I had a late night yesterday, it’s tough to perform on the court. But overall I will take it as a positive week,” Zheng said.
Zheng Qinwen© X screenshot
Zheng explains a scary moment from the first set
In the sixth game of the opener, Muchova earned the first break point of the match. And while attempting to save it, the No. 5 seed suffered a nasty fall that left her sprawled on the court and requiring medical intervention. After the incident, the Chinese had her fingers bandaged and the Czech went on to complete a straight-set victory.
Hope Qinwen is okay, she dragged her knuckles on the ground and they’re cut up pretty bad pic.twitter.com/UWr2hLV40r
— Owen (@kostekcanu) October 5, 2024
Asked about that moment, Zheng admitted that it happened only because she mentally wasn’t where she needed to be.
“I know exactly why I fell, because I wasn’t focused enough. I was too tired. Mentality-wise I wasn’t focused, so I fell. Of course I felt the pain. Bruises on my palms as well as blood on my fingers, my left butt. I wasn’t able to run. But the most important thing is I wasn’t feeling mentally strong. I wasn’t sleeping enough to be ready for this match,” she explained.
Zheng Qinwen© X screenshot
In each of the two sets, Muchova claimed one break and that was enough for her to seal a routine win. On Zheng’s side, there was certain disappointment because she felt that she could have done much better if she had been rested.
“I think if I had more sleep, if I had more rest, without the nighttime match last night. I felt that today I wasn’t able to get the maximum rest and concentration. When I wasn’t focused enough, I wasn’t able to put in 100%. I could have done better. I need to be positive. The positive thing is that it has been a positive week for me,” the 2024 Australian Open runner added.
What’s Zheng’s mindset now and why Wuhan is so important?
For the 21-year-old, there won’t be much time to rest because already on Monday another WTA 1000 tournament in Wuhan is starting. And since that’s her hometown, it will be a very special return.
Heading into that tournament, Zheng admits she really wants to do well there but also underlines that she first has to try to rest at least a bit because otherwise it will be tough to deliver her best tennis.
“Of course, one match after another… I would focus on my health, my mentality. I want full rest. I need to be 100% prepared for the Wuhan Open. I want to perform my best there,” the home favorite highlighted.
Before the start of Beijing, Zheng was ninth on the Race to the WTA Finals list. Following her semifinal run in China’s capital, she has gained enough points to improve to No. 8. If she makes a similar run in Wuhan, she will further solidify her position to clinch a WTA Finals ticket and make her debut at the prestigious season-ending tournament.
“It’s really funny I made the final of the Australian Open but after that I didn’t take some tournaments seriously and didn’t get enough points. Judging from the points I have, it’s difficult for me to make the finals this year. I even complained to the team for not telling me earlier about the qualification of the WTA Finals. Now I feel the pressure but I cannot do anything. All I can do is give my best in the competitions,” Zheng said in Beijing.