China’s current Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen had one of the greatest performances of the 2026 US Open women’s singles tournament, recovering from a 0-5 deficit in the opening set to defeat former World No. 1 Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-3 in the quarterfinals.
The Chinese star’s victory added one more nail-biter in and of itself to her remarkable Flushing Meadows victory. Zheng, who entered the tournament as a qualifier, showed once again that she was able to do well at Flushing Meadows with the tough match and came through in the end that she is not only a fighter and strong fighter who has battled and battled back against one of the biggest names in women’s tennis.
Swiatek, the No. 8 seed and 2022 US Open champion, made a strong start to the match. The Polish star dominated early rallies and used her powerful groundstrokes and sharp angles to keep Zheng under constant pressure. Swiatek held a 5-0 lead in the first set and appeared to be in control of the match.
But soon there was a big change at the front of the tide.
Zheng began to put together more consistent shots and settled into the flow of the match. After a rough few games in the first place, the 23-year-old Chinese player started to put up more solid groundstrokes and get her ball in the court. At each point, she got into the set.
The comeback was remarkable and Zheng came back from 0-5 down to win the first set 7-5. It was yet another example of her resilience during the tournament, coming a couple of days after she had another impressive comeback against Madison Keys.
Zheng was much more confident after winning the first set. With Swiatek unable to regain the same level of control, the Chinese player took over the second set and continued to put pressure on her opponent. Zheng eventually took the match 7-5, 6-3 to eliminate the former World No. 1 from the tournament.
This was a big win for Zheng, who improved her head-to-head record against Swiatek to 2-7 in the WTA Tour. In fact, her two wins on the biggest stages of tennis have now come in her career. Zheng had defeated Swiatek at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, and one of those matches came at the US Open.
The Chinese star also contributed a big piece of tournament history. Zheng became the first qualifier to reach the women’s singles quarterfinals at the US Open since Emma Raducanu in 2021. Raducanu’s remarkable run five years earlier ended with her winning the US Open title, so Zheng’s win was another big breakthrough for a qualifier in New York.
Zheng also became the first qualifier or lucky loser to defeat Swiatek at a Grand Slam. Before this match, the former World No. 1 had won all 15 of her Grand Slam matches against qualifiers and lucky losers.
Zheng was very happy to come back to Arthur Ashe Stadium after the match and to have survived the tough start and was pleased to be able to remain focused even after the struggle. She said she concentrated on playing one point at a time and she just felt she was able to play one point, and gradually got her way with the match as it went on.
Her last few performances, she said, had provided her with confidence and rhythm back. Her comeback against Madison Keys last night also seemed to be a boost for her confidence that she could recover from things like that.
Zheng has become one of the best stories of the tournament now that she has played so many tough matches at the US Open. She has worked so hard and has been so strong in her mental state that she has been able to go through the tournament.
The defeat for Swiatek was a surprise to her campaign. After winning the first set 5-0, the Polish star had appeared to be rolling on the way to victory at 5-0 and then more. Zheng’s turnaround completely changed the course of the match.
Zheng will now look forward to her dream run at the 2026 US Open with her place in the quarterfinals guaranteed. Her victory over Swiatek solidifies her status as one of the most exciting stories of the women's tournament and the Chinese star will go into her next match with confidence.
Zheng Qinwen has shown that she is far from being done in the US Open journey after overcoming a 0-5 deficit against a former World No. 1 in straight sets.
