Goodbye to the Olympic champion: Major absence at the US Open tennis after elbow surgery
After a first round loss at Wimbledon last month the world No. 6 has announced that she will be sitting out the US Open next month.
Chinese tennis star Zheng Qinwen has announced her decision to withdraw from the US Open next month, citing fitness concerns as the reason.
Zheng, who won Olympic gold in the singles competition at the Paris Olympic Games, has been struggling with an elbow injury in recent months and has undergone surgery. She underwent arthroscopic surgery earlier this month, after a disappointing first round exit at Wimbledon.
“Over the past months, I’ve been dealing with persistent pain in my right elbow during training and matches,” she explained. “Despite trying various treatments to manage it, the discomfort never fully went away.”
The recovery is expected to take months so it was no major surprise that she will not be fit to compete at the US Open from August 24. Nevertheless, the absence of one of the world’s best young players will be a disappointment for fans in attendance in New York.
Still only 22 years old, Zheng was ranked as high as No. 4 in the WTA world rankings last month. She has won five career singles titles, including that triumph at the Paris Olympics.
She is still awaiting her first Grand Slam win but she made the final of the Australian Open last year. She has also made the quarter-finals on three separate occasions, twice at the US Open and once at the French Open.
Zheng will not get the chance to improve on that record at Flushing Meadows next month. However her withdrawal does give an opportunity to Leolia Jeanjean, the 29-year-old from France currently ranked No. 99 in the world. Jeanjean has never made it past the first round at the US Open.
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