Former World No. 4 Qinwen Zheng, the 2024 Paris Olympics gold medalist in women’s singles, made a surprising announcement on social media. Fans last saw Zheng in her first round Wimbledon loss to Katerina Siniakova. The 22-year-old is the winner of five WTA titles and has a 244-104 win-loss record in WTA singles since turning professional in 2018.
What Qinwhen Zheng Said
Zheng, who has been wearing a sleeve over her serving arm in recent matches, revealed that she has been dealing with right elbow pain for months. She has been doing everything she can to alleviate it while continuing to play.
Qinwen Zheng after beating Kessler to reach her 1st QF on grass
“You’re into your first grass QF…”
Qinwen: “I always believed I could play good on grass. Somehow, I never played well the past few years. I wish this year can be different, because I’m working hard on it.” ❤️ pic.twitter.com/kHZaPYCbSl
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) June 12, 2025
Qinwen Zheng underwent arthroscopic surgery on her elbow & will be out for some time:
“I want to share a quick update with you all. Over the past months, l’ve been dealing with persistent pain in my right elbow during training and matches. Despite trying various treatments to… pic.twitter.com/63iaYbAAiH
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 19, 2025
However, it became increasingly obvious to her and her team that the best treatment was elbow surgery. Her social media post shows her in a hospital bed post-op. Zheng does not officially declare that her 2025 season is over, but she mentions that the rehab and healing will occur over the next “few weeks and months.”
Zheng could be trying to get back for the WTA Tour’s Asian swing which begins at the end of September. That would give her two months to recover and be match ready. That seems ambitious with her serving arm and elbow, but it could be possible. She is the 2024 WTA Finals runner up and is currently within the Top 8 who are eligible for the 2025 WTA Finals. Zheng was a 2024 US Open quarterfinalist, and it seems clear that she will not be in New York next month.
Best wishes to Qinwen Zheng on her recovery. She is the third high-profile WTA player whose rest of season is up in the air after Paula Badosa announced she is once again dealing with her chronic back injury and Ons Jabeur shared that she is taking an indefinite break from tennis to mentally and physically recover.
Zheng and Badosa were slated to participate in the reimagined US Open Mixed Doubles tournament beginning on August 19 with partners Jack Draper and Stefanos Tsitsipas, respectively.
