Zheng Qinwen of China makes it to her maiden Grand Slam semifinal

Zheng Qinwen, the top women’s ace from China, defeated Anna Kalinskaya of Russia 2-1 in a quarterfinal match at the Australian Open to earn her a spot in the semifinals of the Grand Slam in Melbourne on Wednesday. Zheng, who is ranked No. 15 this week, survived a scare in the first set and regained her composure to defeat 75th-ranked Kalinskaya, 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-1, in two hours and twenty minutes at Rod Laver Arena, securing her place in a major semifinal for the first time in her brief career. Zheng, who advanced to the US Open quarterfinals in her first Grand Slam event last year, won ten of the final eleven games to become the third Chinese player to reach a major semifinal in major tournament history.

She becomes the fourth Chinese woman to reach a major semifinal, following in the footsteps of two-time Grand Slam champion Li Na, who won in Melbourne just ten years ago; retired star Zheng Jie, who qualified for the 2008 Wimbledon semifinals and advanced to the semifinals; and Peng Shuai, who reached the 2014 US Open semifinals. The outcome also ensures that Zheng, the second Chinese woman after Li to break into the top echelon, would debut in the top 10 in the WTA rankings following the Australian Open the following week. The 21-year-old won her first two WTA Tour championships in Palermo in July and in her native Zhengzhou in October. She was voted Most Improved Player of the Year last month.

It’s encouraging news for me and provides me with more incentive, especially since I mentioned last year that I aimed to place in the top 10 at the Australian Open. Zheng, who was eliminated in the second round of the 2023 AO, stated that he had achieved his aim a year later. Zheng began the match clearly nervous, committing a number of unintentional errors in the first set. However, she found her game halfway through the second set, hitting 42 wins, including 10 aces, as she drew away to win the decider. She gave a great performance today. Excellent baseline strokes. Zheng, who will face Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine on Thursday for a final berth at the season-opening major, said of the match: “It was really tough for me.”