China hails 'Queen Wen,' the tennis star who fulfilled a dream

Beijing — 

Zheng Qinwen's parents sold the household location to money her tennis dreams and present she is an Olympic champion and China's biggest existent sports star.

The 21-year-old is playing astatine location for the archetypal clip since becoming the archetypal Chinese subordinate to triumph an Olympic singles tennis golden erstwhile she triumphed successful Paris.

She did not disappoint successful her opening lucifer astatine the China Open, sweeping speech 71st-ranked Russian Kamilla Rakhimova 6-1, 6-1 successful beforehand of an adoring Beijing assemblage Saturday.

Zheng was taken aback by the atmosphere, calling it "insane" and saying she had hardly ever seen a assemblage truthful full.

"I was a small spot shocked," said Zheng, who trains successful Barcelona and is astatine a best-ever ranking of 7 successful the satellite but tipped to spell higher.

Zheng has already earned much than $5 cardinal successful prize wealth and besides has galore endorsements from large planetary brands including Nike and Rolex.

Off tribunal she has besides appeared connected the beforehand pages of GQ mag and Harper's Bazaar.

Known arsenic "Queen Wen" successful China, Zheng has won 3 WTA Tour titles, and this twelvemonth reached her archetypal Grand Slam last astatine the Australian Open.

She was comprehensively beaten 6-3, 6-2 by defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, who bushed the Chinese again successful consecutive sets astatine the caller U.S. Open.

The satellite No. 2 from Belarus, who went connected to triumph the U.S. Open, is the apical effect successful the Chinese superior this week and the 2 players are connected people to conscionable successful the semi-finals.

Zheng says she is simply a amended subordinate present than she was successful Melbourne and with the assemblage down her she could instrumentality immoderate stopping.

She faces Nadia Podoroska of Argentina successful the 3rd round.

Michelle Zhang, a section instrumentality astatine the China Open whose 2 children play tennis, said, "We respect her for doing a batch for the country."

Friend Adele Xue added, "she showed radical that Chinese radical tin play tennis."

Never gives up

Zheng grew up idolizing Li Na, the Chinese trailblazer who won 2 Grand Slam titles. Li's French Open triumph successful 2011 made her the archetypal subordinate from Asia to triumph a large singles crown.

Li is from Wuhan, wherever Zheng moved arsenic a kid to prosecute her tennis ambitions.

After the China Open, Wuhan is the adjacent halt connected the WTA Tour and Zheng would dearly emotion to triumph there.

Known arsenic approachable and affable disconnected court, Zheng is fiercely determined and competitory connected it.

She was talented successful aggregate sports arsenic a kid and her begetter Zheng Jianping was a track-and-field athlete.

Jianping said Zheng's involvement successful tennis was sparked by a travel to Beijing to ticker the Olympics erstwhile she was six years old.

After returning from the capital, Zheng began learning tennis and her quality was soon noticed by section endowment scouts.

Two years aboriginal her begetter took her from their location successful Shiyan to the provincial superior Wuhan for nonrecreational training.

"One of the champion things astir this kid is that she ne'er gives up," her Wuhan coach, Yu Liqiao, told section media.

After winning Olympic golden successful Paris, Zheng revealed that her begetter had sold the household location to money her budding tennis vocation erstwhile she was successful her teens.

Her parent Deng Fang sold bid tickets astatine a railway presumption but gave up the occupation to marque definite her girl slept and ate decently during training.

Zheng was among the millions of tennis fans glued to their televisions successful China to spot Li Na triumph the Australian Open successful 2014.

Zheng, past 11, was interviewed connected tv and confidently stated that she was aiming for the top.

"I privation to play successful the Grand Slams and combat for championships," she said.