Qinwen Zheng endured a frustrating season on the WTA Tour in 2025, which was massively disrupted by injury.
Zheng played just 32 singles matches on the WTA Tour, winning 20 and losing 12, ending the year 24th in the world rankings.
It’s some way off the career-high of world number four that the Chinese superstar reached in June of this year.
Zheng is a five-time WTA Tour champion, but was unable to add to that tally in her latest season, which she ended early due to injury.
Tennis fans shocked as Qinwen Zheng wins WTA Fan Favorite award
Despite her lack of action on the court, Zheng has just been named as the WTA Singles Fan Favorite of the Year.
Angered by the decision, one tennis fan wrote on X: “How’s that possible?” Another agreed: “I’m asking that very question.”
A third asked: “Seriously?” And another said: “Hmmm. Something’s wrong with the voting on this one. Makes no sense!”
Other bemused tennis fans said of the announcement: “She barely played,” and “Fan fav, this is a joke, right?”
Who is your favorite player on the WTA Tour right now?
Qinwen Zheng joined by Jannik Sinner in popularity award
Popular figure Zheng clearly has a very loyal following in tennis, both in her native China and across the globe.
But it does seem somewhat unfair that she beat many others to the award, which she incidentally also won in 2024.
Jannik Sinner defended his fan favorite award on the ATP Tour too, with both players very much leading figures in world tennis right now.
What is your match of the year from the 2025 WTA season?
Zheng won the Match of the Year award as well this year alongside Coco Gauff, with their epic Rome semifinal recognised for its high drama and entertainment.
She lost the match but enjoyed one of her best runs of the season, not to be outdone by her fine journey to the quarterfinals of the French Open for the first time in her career.
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