Qinwen Zheng gives update on her current condition after playing her first match back from injury

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Qinwen Zheng made a triumphant return to the WTA Tour in Beijing, China.

The Chinese star was last seen in action at Wimbledon, where Zheng lost to Katerina Siniakova in the first round.

Looking to solve a persistent problem with her elbow, Zheng then underwent surgery, which saw her skip the final Grand Slam of the year in New York.

Returning in front of her adoring fans in Beijing, Zheng took on Colombia’s Emiliana Arango in the second round of the China Open.

Producing a clinical display, the 22-year-old defeated Arango, 6-3, 6-2, to book her place in the third round.

Afterwards, Zheng shared how she is feeling physically, having played her first match in 88 days.

Qinwen Zheng says she is only at ’70-80%’ fitness but insists she is able to compete

During her post-match press conference, Zheng admitted she hadn’t originally planned to return in Beijing due to her ongoing recovery from injury.

“The China Open wasn’t in our plans because it was really close to be here 100%,” she said.

“Like I said on court, I wasn’t at 100% still. Maybe 80%, 70%, whatever, but I’m able to compete.

“The recovery process is very long. At the beginning, I healed really fast. But somehow, the last 20%, it just didn’t get better.”

Zheng then explained how she felt during the match and highlighted the area of her game that will improve when she fully recovers.

“I feel a bit fatigued in the surgery area, which is normal. I’ve been expecting this already,” she said.

“But it’s going to be better. I’ve been doing really good rehab with my team, so let’s see how far I can go.

“My serve wasn’t really reaching the speed I want. The average is about 175. If I recover more, I can increase my speed. I think that’s the rest of the 20% I’m working on.”

The world number nine was also asked about what she got up to during her time away from the court.

“Rehab is, of course, very challenging. In the past two months, I did not have any pressure from matches. I felt relaxed. Most of the time, I did not play tennis. At the very beginning, I did not play tennis so I could focus on other things,” said Zheng.

“I learned Spanish. I read books. I took classes. It was a really good life.

“I know my fans missed me in the past two months. I wasn’t really updating on social media in the past two months. Now I’m back. I would like to stay more on court so my fans can see me more.”

Zheng’s fans will have a chance to see her again on Monday, when she returns to take on Czechia’s Linda Noskova.

Can Qinwen Zheng still qualify for the WTA Finals?

The youngster enjoyed one of the best tournaments of her career a year ago, at the WTA Finals.

Narrowly losing out to Coco Gauff in a thrilling three-set final, Zheng proved she belonged with the very best in women’s tennis.

However, due to her injury struggles in 2025, Zheng is unlikely to return to Riyadh for this year’s tour finals.

Sitting 20th in the race, Zheng would likely need to win both WTA 1000 events in China to qualify.

With four tournaments still to play before the WTA Finals begin, Zheng could hypothetically finish on a points total of 4,413, although that is highly unlikely.

Knowing that WTA Finals qualification is out of reach, the 22-year-old will instead look to build back fitness and momentum over the next month or so, to try to ready herself for a big push forward in 2026.

The Olympic gold medalist will want to arrive in Melbourne for the Australian Open full of confidence, searching for a maiden Grand Slam title.

There’s still work to be done for Zheng in Beijing, however, as she looks to secure her spot in the fourth round with a win over Noskova on Monday, September 29.