A Comeback Artist Is Born in New York
Just two days after saving match point while trailing 5-0 in the deciding set against Madison Keys, Zheng Qinwen somehow repeated the trick on one of tennis's grandest stages. Facing Iga Swiatek, a six-time Grand Slam champion and the eighth seed at this year's US Open, the 23-year-old from China fell behind 5-0 in the opening set on Arthur Ashe Stadium. What followed was remarkable: Zheng won seven consecutive games to steal the set 7-5, then dominated the second 6-3 to complete a result that left Swiatek in tears as she walked off court.
Zheng entered the tournament through qualifying, having dropped outside the world's top 100 following elbow surgery in July 2025. With seven consecutive wins in New York now to her name, including three qualifying rounds, she is on the cusp of returning to the top 50. Her only previous win over Swiatek came in the semifinal of the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she went on to claim gold. Analyst and former player Daniela Hantuchova captured the mood perfectly, noting that seeing Swiatek panicking and uncertain on the other side of the net said everything about how well Zheng performed.
Swiatek's Difficult Season Continues
For Swiatek, this defeat confirmed a frustrating 2026 campaign. She has now failed to reach a Grand Slam semifinal all year, falling in the fourth round at both the US Open and the French Open, and exiting in the third round at Wimbledon. Commentary from Marion Bartoli and Martina Navratilova highlighted visible tension between Swiatek and her coach Francisco Roig during the match, including a reportedly strange mid-match instruction about loosening her racket strings.
Zheng next faces either Naomi Osaka or Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals, continuing a run that echoes Emma Raducanu's famous 2021 US Open title charge. Many TennisDraw users had Swiatek advancing deep into the draw, making Zheng's stunning run one of the bracket-busting stories of the tournament.
