"I don't consider myself the Roland-Garros champion," Zheng discusses her Olympic gold medal

Although Qinwen Zheng has never won Roland-Garros, she has claimed a major title at this very venue: the 2024 Olympic Games.

During her run, she defeated Iga Świątek in the semifinals. In a press conference after her victory over Liudmila Samsonova, she made a clear distinction between the two events.

"It's true I won the gold medal here last year, but I don’t consider myself the defending champion of Roland-Garros, since it was Iga Świątek who won the tournament.

It’s different: in a Grand Slam, you play seven matches, and at the Olympics, you need six to win gold. I know I beat her here last time; I was very confident on clay, but I don’t see myself as the defending champion.

Right now, I’m in the quarterfinals; I think I’m still far from it, so I just want to stay calm and fight for every match. I’ve forgotten about last year; I just want to battle for every moment of this Roland-Garros."

Zheng will have her work cut out for her in the quarterfinals as she faces Aryna Sabalenka this Tuesday.