Zheng Qinwen, the Olympic gold medalist who entered the 2026 US Open through qualifiers, defeated Iga Swiatek on Monday, 7-5, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals.
Qinwen, who was once the world No. 4 and is now ranked 121, had to put up a gritty fight to get past the six-time Grab Slam Champion, Swiatek. Zheng is also the first qualifier to reach the US Open women’s singles quarterfinals since Emma Raducanu in 2021.
“Psychologically, it’s very difficult to accept. I used to be Top 10, an Olympic champion. I’ve played in the big stadiums since the beginning,” Zheng said in her post-match press conference. “My ranking dropped so much after my injury. I couldn’t perform well the last three, four months. I know people have a lot of doubts about me, and it’s really hard for me.
“I need to keep positive every single day, telling myself, ‘Just keep working, and let’s see when the results are going to happen.”’
Qinwen won the last seven games, in which she defeated Madison Keys in the previous match. After falling behind 5-0 in the first set against Swiatek, she again reeled off seven straight. She also broke the Pole twice in the second set to seal the win.
“I didn’t have good timing. I wasn’t hitting the ball right,” Swiatek said in her post-match press conference. “It’s tough to get over that when it happens. And maybe I could have played safer or something, but I also didn’t feel like I had space with Qinwen to do that.”
Qinwen will next face No. 2 Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals, as Rybakina cruised past No. 13 Naomi Osaka 6-1, 6-4 in just 66 minutes.
Elsewhere in the tournament, seed No. 5 Mirra Andreeva defeated Austrian Anastasia Potapova 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the first US Open quarterfinal of her career in 2 hours and 27 minutes.
Potapova suffered an unfortunate injury to her knee while chasing an Andreeva forehand. While the duo had been at it for over 2 hours, Andreeva rushed at her opponent’s side within seconds. The 19-year-old helped a limping Potapova to her chair and called for ice as she underwent treatment.
While the play resumed, there wasn’t much Potapova could do, as she couldn’t manage to win another point.
“Nastya, she’s my good friend,” Andreeva said in her on-court interview. “Seeing what a battle we had, and seeing in the last game her fall like this, it’s not easy. I can imagine what she’s going through, and I have goosebumps on my body. It’s not the way obviously you want to finish the match, or to see one of your good friends finish the match.
“I just told her that she’s been playing amazing so far; she’s been having one of the best seasons, and I’m sure that she’s going to come back even stronger because she’s a warrior. I think she’s even a better fighter than me.”
Andreeva will face seed No. 4 Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals, who got the better of fellow American Iva Jovic to seal a place in the quarterfinals.
