Zheng Qinwen's US Open Comeback: What It Means for 2027

Zheng Qinwen has reached the quarterfinals of the 2026 US Open, completing one of the tournament's most unlikely runs after a 14-month stretch of injury and lost form dropped the 2024 Olympic champion to No. 121 in the world. She beat No. 8 seed Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-3 in the fourth round on September 7, rallying from 0-5 down in the first set to win seven straight games, and now faces Elena Rybakina for a spot in the semifinals.

What Happened

Zheng missed large parts of the 2025 season following elbow surgery and carried just a 12-13 record into the US Open, her ranking low enough that she had to play qualifying for only the second time in her career, after the 2022 Australian Open. She won three qualifying matches to reach the main draw, then kept winning. Against Swiatek, she dropped the first five games of the match before finding her range, reeling off seven straight games to close out the first set 7-5 and carrying that momentum into a 6-3 second set. By the time it was over, Zheng was riding a six-match winning streak and had reached the fourth round at Flushing Meadows for the first time in two years. The win made her the fourth women's qualifier in the Open era to reach a US Open quarterfinal, and her third career major quarterfinal moved her past Li Na for the most by any Chinese player in the tournament's history.

The Rest of the Quarterfinal Field

Zheng's run is one of several storylines from a busy fourth round in New York. Elena Rybakina, her quarterfinal opponent, powered past former champion Naomi Osaka 6-1, 6-4 to reach the last eight. Coco Gauff is back in the quarterfinals for the first time since her 2023 championship run, and Aryna Sabalenka advanced in straight sets as she chases a third straight title. On the men's side, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz needed three sets to get past Tommy Paul, while Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, and Alex Michelsen also reached the quarterfinals, which are being played September 8 and 9.

A Familiar Stage

Zheng is no stranger to big runs on the Roland-Garros grounds. She won Olympic singles gold there in 2024, and last May she reached her first French Open quarterfinal, still her best result at the tournament. Her fourth-round win in New York came against a former world No. 1 and multiple Grand Slam champion; see our Iga Swiatek player profile for more on the player she beat, and check who else is chasing next year's title in our 2027 player entry list.

What It Means for Roland-Garros 2027

A player who has already won Olympic gold and reached a Grand Slam quarterfinal on the same clay courts, doing it again just months after being outside the top 100, is a real signal heading into next spring. If Zheng carries this form and health into the offseason, she becomes one of the more interesting names to watch at Roland-Garros 2027 (May 17 to June 6), joining a field already reshaped by Novak Djokovic's early US Open exit and Jannik Sinner's withdrawal; catch up on both in our Djokovic recap and Sinner withdrawal story. Whether Zheng can back up this week with a deep run in the quarterfinals themselves will be the next test, but the turnaround from No. 121 to the second week of a major is already the kind of story that shapes how a field is read heading into the next clay season.

Planning Ahead for Roland-Garros 2027

Storylines like Zheng's are exactly why the clay season is worth planning for early. Browse available French Open 2027 tickets at GoalTickets to start planning your trip, and explore our full player profiles to get to know the contenders before Roland-Garros returns.

Reporting on Zheng Qinwen's run verified against ESPN, the WTA, and Olympics.com.