Zheng falls to Siegemund and is eliminated in the second round of the Australian Open

Here she is, the first big surprise of this Australian Open 2025 in the women's draw.

A finalist at Melbourne 2024, Zheng Qinwen, who also reached the final of the WTA Finals in Riyadh last November, will go no further than the second round at the Australian Open.

Seeded number 5, Zheng Qinwen reminded us just before the tournament that she wanted to be more consistent throughout the season.

2025 didn't get off to the best of starts, however. After defeating Anca Todoni in the first round, the Chinese player fell to Laura Siegemund (7-6, 6-3).

The 36-year-old German, ranked 97th in the world, had come from behind to beat Hailey Baptiste (4-6, 7-5, 6-4) in her opening match, but put in a fine performance to beat a top-10 player.

A third round match against a Russian player, either Anastasia Potapova or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, now awaits her.

"I knew I had to play more than my best tennis. I had nothing to lose. I just told myself that I had to play free.

She's an incredible player, one of the best in the world right now. I know I can play well. I just want to prove it to myself and go into battle.

There are days when you go out on court and the ball comes out of the racket well. I had a plan in mind and I think I've stuck to it.

The match became physical. During the whole pre-season, I'd been wondering what the point was of doing all this, and I said to myself, now we've got to run!" reacted Siegemund after the match.