Qinwen Zheng Explains "Many" Reasons Why She Lost in Madrid

Last Friday, Qinwen Zheng suffered an unexpected loss to Anastasia Potapova in the second round of the Madrid Open. The unseeded Potapova beat the eighth-seeded Zheng in straight sets: 6-4, 6-4.

After winning a gold medal for China on the clay courts of Roland Garros in the 2024 Summer Olympics, Zheng will forever face high expectations when playing on clay.

The Chinese newspaper Titan Sports recently interviewed Zheng about her loss in Madrid. The WTA World No. 8 blamed herself, not injuries, for the upset.

"Losing the match wasn't due to just one reason — there were many. There were a lot of areas where I didn't perform well. I don't think it had anything to do with my injury; it's no longer affecting me," said Zheng.

She continued, "Right now, I can play normally. Although the injury did have a slight impact at the very beginning, once the match started, I was able to put it out of my mind."

Instead of pinning the loss on her lingering elbow injury, Zheng explained, "I felt overall too slow on the court, and my performance was too flat. I didn't make the right choices on some key points."

"I need to play with more aggression and a greater sense of strength, especially when I'm in the lead — I should be more decisive with my attacks."

She concluded, "Clay is a surface that demands a lot of patience because the ball moves slower, and players need to make more and better decisions. I still need to find my rhythm on clay."

Zheng is now 9-7 on the season with zero titles. Her next tournament will be the Italian Open in Rome next month.

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