Zheng Qinwen Wins China Open for First WTA 1000 Title

Zheng Qinwen made history at the China Open on Sunday, October 11, 2026, by defeating fourth-seeded Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-4 in Beijing. The victory made Zheng the first Chinese woman to capture the tournament's WTA 1000 title and secured her first championship since winning in Tokyo in late 2024.

According to the WTA, Zheng completed the final in 1 hour, 43 minutes, earning her first WTA 1000 championship and sixth career title on the WTA Tour. The result is also expected to lift the 24-year-old from No. 54 to the top 30 in the world rankings next week, following a season in which she dropped as low as No. 160.

Zheng became the first wildcard to win the China Open since the tournament's relaunch in 2004. She also recorded the lowest ranking of any champion during that period, according to the WTA.

The Chinese player saved three set points in the opening set before winning the final 11 points in a row to take it 7-5. After the players exchanged early breaks in the second set, Zheng broke Andreeva in the ninth game and held serve to secure the championship.

Andreeva, who had lost her only previous meeting with Zheng, identified the missed opportunities in the opening set as important moments in the final.

"If I remember those three set points that I had, the first set point, I think she served on the T, a great serve. I returned not so good. Plus-one.

Then I put a lob. She finished with a smash. Not much I could do.

The second set point, there was a second serve. I could have taken more risk. I kind of went for it, but I still wanted it to be kind of safe.

But I still thought it was a good return. A long point. Maybe I could have taken more risk, try to be more aggressive.

After the third set point also she finished the point with a volley. Of course, if I look at that, if I try to bring that back, maybe I would do something different of course to try to change the outcome. Now it is what it is.

The only thing I can do is to try to do something different on the next match that I have," Andreeva told reporters after the match.

Zheng's run included a demanding early schedule. She won her first four matches in three sets before taking her final three matches in straight sets, according to the WTA.

Across the tournament, Zheng dropped 78 games, the most by a winner of a Tier I or WTA 1000 event since the format began in 1990. That total surpassed the 66 games dropped by Belinda Bencic in Toronto in 2015. Madison Keys remains the only player cited by the WTA as having dropped more games on the way to a WTA-level title in the Open Era, losing 87 games during her Australian Open championship run in 2025.

The win over Andreeva was also Zheng's 14th career victory against a top-10 opponent and her third such win of the season. Andreeva, meanwhile, is projected to rise to No. 3 in the rankings on Monday, making her the third-youngest player this century to reach the top three for the first time, behind Maria Sharapova and Kim Clijsters.

Despite the defeat, Andreeva praised Zheng's performance and said the Chinese player's form could improve further after a difficult year.

"I just think, of course, she's a great server. I also think today I missed a lot of returns trying to go for it, trying to be more aggressive. Sometimes it worked, but most of the time I just felt like, I wanted to go for it but couldn't really find I guess the margin, couldn't really find the rhythm, as well.

I will probably need to look at this match and just see why, try to improve and learn from that. For sure today she played great. She also mentioned, of course we all know, that she's had a tough year.

It's also very nice to see her playing better and coming back. I think that she's going to be raising her level even more soon," Andreeva said.

Andreeva also viewed her tournament campaign positively despite losing the final, highlighting the opportunity to review her performance with coach Conchita Martinez.

"I think overall of course it was a good tournament. I mean, a lot of positives to take from these two weeks. Of course, I felt like today just wasn't meant to be. I think after also talking with Conchita, I will be able to look onto this match maybe from a different perspective and see maybe some good things," Andreeva said.