Zheng, Third Top 10 WTA Player to Fall Early at Wimbledon
This start to the Wimbledon tournament is full of surprises, both in the men's and women's draws. After Paula Badosa's exit on Monday and Jessica Pegula's defeat earlier this Tuesday afternoon, a third top 10-ranked player has been eliminated in her opening match.
This time, it's Zheng Qinwen who makes an early exit. The Chinese world No. 6 suffered a tough loss against Katerina Siniakova. After dropping a tightly contested first set, she managed to bounce back and regain the psychological edge.
But the Czech player, ranked 81st in singles, delivered a near-perfect third set to clinch the victory in three sets (7-5, 4-6, 6-1 in 2 hours and 24 minutes) and advance to the second round, where she will face Naomi Osaka.
For Zheng, this defeat confirms her struggles on the London grass. Indeed, the 2024 Australian Open finalist has now lost in the first round of Wimbledon in each of the last three seasons.
While Lulu Sun stunned her in 2024, it was Siniakova who eliminated her from the same tournament two years ago. Her last win at Wimbledon dates back to the second round in 2022, where she defeated Greet Minnen in straight sets.
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