Qinwen Zheng has admitted she hasn’t taken some big tournaments seriously as she aims to make a late push for the WTA Finals.
The Olympic gold medallist makes a heroic return to her home country after a successful season so far.
Zheng started the season by reaching her first Grand Slam final at the Australian Open before claiming the ultimate prize at the Olympics in Paris.
Now after a run to the quarter-finals at the US Open, Zheng is seeking to make a successful return to China.
Speaking ahead of her Beijing opener Zheng said she doesn’t feel much pressure ahead of the China Open, “I think I don’t consider that like big pressure. I will consider it like big support,” Zheng was quoted by tennishead as saying.
“Especially when I am feeling down, I see all the people’s support on me. It is quite different to play in China compared to the rest of the world. I know basically all of them, going to be 95 percent of the crowd, they are going to support me. It is a big confidence [boost]. There’s also a big energy there when I’m playing on court.”
Ahead of the Asian swing, Zheng currently sits 9th in the race to Riyadh with the top seven joining Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova in Saudi Arabia.
However in a shocking revelation Zheng was unaware about the qualification to Saudi Arabia and has even missed some WTA 1000’s earlier this season, “It’s really funny I made the final of Australian Open, but after that I didn’t take some tournaments seriously so missed many WTA 1000s and didn’t get enough points,” Zheng shockingly revealed.
“Judging from the points I have, it’s difficult for me to make the Finals this year. I even complained to the team for not telling me earlier about the qualification of the WTA Finals. Now I feel the pressure but I cannot do anything. All I can do is give my best in the competitions.”
The Chinese number one will start her Beijing campaign against Kamilla Rakhimova as she aims to qualify for the season-ending finale.