“Can tell my family, father, 'I've just made history!'": Zheng Qinwen relieved as ‘huge weight’ lifts off her shoulders on winning Paris Olympics gold

China's Zheng Qinwen etched her name in tennis history as she won the gold medal in the women's singles event at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Zheng is the first tennis player from her country and Asia to take the prestigious ribbon home.

Zheng fought her way through some of the top players in the last week. She opened her campaign by handing Italy's Sara Errani a double bagel in the first round and beat Arantxa Rus from the Netherlands 6-2, 6-4 in the second. The World No. 7 then prevailed over Emma Navarro from the USA 6-7(7), 7-6(4), 6-1 in a grueling battle.

The 21-year-old had to produce another comeback effort in the quarterfinals, as her German opponent, Angelique Kerber, managed to clinch the opening set in a tiebreak. The Chinese leveled the score by taking the second set before edging Kerber in the third set, which also went into a tiebreaker. She won the match 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(6).

Zheng did the unthinkable in the semifinals as she downed reigning French Open champion Iga Swiatek from Poland in straight sets. Swiatek broke her three times during the match but she returned the favor with twice as many breaks to secure a 6-2, 7-5 win.

Eventually, she defeated Croatia's Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-3 in the final held at Roland Garros on Saturday, August 3. She hit four aces, converted four break points, hit 13 winners, and induced a total of 20 unforced errors from Vekic to ensure one more gold for medal tally leaders China at the Paris Games.

While talking to the media after her monumental achievement, Zheng Qinwen expressed relief.

"When I became an Olympic champion, I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Mentally I feel much lighter to move forward. I can finally tell my family and my father, 'Come on, I've just made history,'" she said (quoted by Puntodebreak; translated).

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Zheng Qinwen: "I've always wanted to become one of the Asians who can inspire young people"

Zheng Qinwen (Getty)

In the same media interaction, Zheng Qinwen expressed her wish to motivate people from Asia to take up tennis professionally.

"I've always wanted to become one of the Asians who can inspire young people and make them love tennis more, because tennis is a fantastic sport, especially for girls. You have to fight, you have to have strength, you have to be fast," she said.

She has her eyes set on a Grand Slam trophy next, as she added:

"I still have a long way to go, because winning a Grand Slam has always been my dream."

Zheng Qinwen came close to winning a Major in January this year when she reached the final of the 2024 Australian Open. However, Aryna Sabalenka proved too strong in the summit clash, as the Belarusian won the championship match 6-3, 6-2.