Qinwen Zheng will at least play one tennis event ahead of the Australian Open in 2026.
Zheng underwent surgery on her elbow after losing in the first round of Wimbledon, and was forced to withdraw from the US Open.
Despite missing the last Grand Slam of the year, Zheng made a comeback to tennis at the China Open.
However, this was short-lived and Zheng was sent a message by Novak Djokovic after injury forced her to retire from her second match back.
There was concern for Zheng when it was realised that she was the only player in the top 30 of the WTA rankings not to enter a pre-Australian Open tournament, but she has now been confirmed to play an event alongside Carlos Alcaraz and Nick Kyrgios.
Qinwen Zheng confirms her first tennis event of the 2026 season
Zheng, who was named the WTA Fan Favourite once again, will return to the tennis court for an exhibition event ahead of the Australian Open.
This will take place in Melbourne Park, with the Australian Open looking to rival the US Open mixed doubles event with the 1-Point Slam tournament.
The 1-Point Slam does as it says on the tin, as players will compete over just one point to make it through to the next round.
Another unique factor for the event is that it features 24 professional players, eight Australian state champions, eight amateur qualifiers and eight wildcards with a $1million prize for the winner.
Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Kyrgios, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff had already been announced for the event, and now Naomi Osaka, Jasmine Paolini, Daniil Medvedev, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Zheng have joined them.
Zheng and the rest of these players will all compete for the $1million prize when the 1-Point Slam takes place on January 14.
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How many ranking points does Qinwen Zheng have to defend in the first half of 2026?
After missing the majority of the second half of the 2025 season, Zheng dropped from her career-high of world number four down to world number 24.
This also means that Zheng has to defend the majority of her ranking points in the first half of the 2026 season.
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Zheng has to defend over 84% of her ranking points in the first six months of the year, including her runs to the French Open quarterfinal and the Italian Open semifinal.
| Qinwen Zheng’s ranking | |
| Current ranking total | 1,728 (No.24) |
| Points defending up to and including the Australian Open | 70 |
| Points defending up to and including the French Open | 1,458 |
| Points defending after the French Open | 270 |
While this may put pressure on the Chinese number one in the first six months of the year, Zheng will have a big opportunity to climb back up the rankings in 2026.
Zheng will first put her elbow injury to the test at the 1-Point Slam, before she returns to the Australian Open, where she reached the final in 2024.
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