Zheng stuns Swiatek with another 0-5 US Open

Qinwen Zheng has reached the US Open quarter-finals after a stunning 7-5, 6-3 victory over eighth seed Iga Swiatek. The Chinese qualifier, ranked 121st in the world, produced her second consecutive comeback from 0-5 down in a set to eliminate the six-time grand slam champion.

Zheng's path to the main draw required handling the qualifying rounds, a result of an elbow injury that disrupted her 2025 season. Just two days before facing Swiatek, she had staged an identical recovery against Madison Keys in the third round. In that match, Zheng saved a match point while trailing 0-5 in the decider, reeling off seven straight games to win 1-6, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5 against the American 22nd seed.

A Remarkable First Set Turnaround

The pattern repeated against Swiatek. Zheng found herself down 0-5 in the opening set on Arthur Ashe Stadium court. She then won seven consecutive games to seize the set 7-5. The only break of serve in the second set went to Zheng, who closed out the match on her fourth match point. She fell onto her back in celebration after securing the win, her seventh consecutive victory in New York.

"Well, honestly, I have to say, I started the match not so well," Zheng said in her on-court interview. "Little by little I found my rhythm on the center court because it's been a long, long time." She attributed her focus to momentarily forgetting the score. "I guess to come back 0-5 yesterday is not lucky, that's all I can say."

Swiatek's Grand Slam Struggles Continue

For Iga Swiatek, the defeat was a painful repeat of recent grand slam exits. The former Wimbledon champion left the court in tears. Her error count spiralled to 28 during the match. Since winning the Wimbledon title in 2025, Swiatek's last five losses at major tournaments have all been in straight sets.

The result also revived memories of the pair's Olympic final meeting two years prior in Paris, where Zheng, the former Olympic champion, also defeated Swiatek for the gold medal. Zheng expressed particular satisfaction with this win, noting it had been a while since she defeated a top-10 player.

Quarter-Final Awaits

Zheng advances to her third US Open quarter-final. She will face the winner of the match between second seed Elena Rybakina and 13th seed Naomi Osaka, a two-time US Open champion. In other women's singles action, French Open champion Mirra Andreeva also mounted a comeback to defeat Anastasia Potapova 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, securing her first US Open quarter-final berth.