How one training block allowed Zheng to refind her game ahead of US Open

NEW YORK -- When Zheng Qinwen lost 3-6, 4-6 in Toronto qualifiers, both she and her team knew a change needed to be made. 

"When I lost badly in Toronto qualifiers -- I played really [disastrous] there -- my coach (Pere Riba) sat down with me and we had a long talk together," Zheng said to press after her US Open Round of 16 win Monday. "He told me, 'You can't continue playing like this. You need to have a training block and find your tennis again.'

"I [thought] about it, it just [took] five seconds. I said, 'Okay, let's do that.'"

Zheng elected to skip the Cincinnati Open entirely and head down south to Bradenton, Florida and train at IMG Academy. That decision has paid off.

Toronto was the first time Zheng had competed in qualifiers since January 2023 on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz. The one-day qualifying in Toronto is just a taste of what was to come for Zheng, who has now navigated three rounds of qualifying at this year's US Open, where she is now preparing for her third career quarterfinal in New York. That's the most for a Chinese player in the Open Era.

On Wednesday, she will face Elena Rybakina after recording back-to-back wins where she was down 0-5 in a set, including saving match point vs. Madison Keys in the third round. Monday, she won 13 of the final 16 games vs. Swiatek to win in straight sets. 

Much of this run to the elite eight at Flushing Meadows can be attributed to the trip to Florida, where the only thing on Zheng's mind was tennis. 

"Just tennis, gym, and a resting place," Zheng said of Bradenton, Florida. "We have been really dedicating all the time in tennis, tennis, tennis, and training. I remembered one day that we even finished training at 8:30 in the evening when I started at 8:00 in the morning.

"It was really tough, but this is how sport shows. If you don't work hard, you don't have it. So I'm really happy about the work we made together, and then at the end, the effort pays off."

Admittedly, prior to the US Open, Zheng wasn't putting complete performances consistently since returning back from an elbow injury that sidelined her several months. 

She was 11-13 in the season, and hadn't managed to win more than two matches in a row. Following a first-round exit at Roland Garros to eventual runner-up Maja Chwalinska, Zheng slipped out of the top 100, a moment in hindsight has become a great learning experience.

"That loss for me was one of the toughest for me to accept it, because I got lot of chances in that match," Zheng said. "Even right now, for me, I could remember how I missed those chances.

"Those losses maybe are necessary for me to understand. I need to stay humble. I need to continue work hard, to come back to my spot, because I feel sport, there's no gift. If you stop working hard, the result shows everything. I needed to, in that moment, to heal myself for quite long time, little by little find myself."

Zheng said the pieces to her game were always there, but she couldn't manage to put them together. That's what she told her coach, and finding the solution was the main reason of going to Florida. 

The 2024 Olympic gold medalist added that this was the toughest training block of her career, and clearly it's paying off. Zheng, currently ranked No. 121, is guaranteed to add 430 ranking points to her tally as she did not have any points to defend by missing last year's US Open. 

"[My coach] told me 'Okay, let's go to practice really hard to help you put all the pieces together. Then, you will show me later if you really got all the pieces.' I said 'Okay, let's do that.'

"That was a really, really hard block of training over there. I don't want mention anymore because I mean that's the toughest training I ever did with him, honestly."

Throughout the process and difficulties of the summer, Zheng's confidence never wavered. She's always had it, and was part of her motivation to improve. 

"My confidence is always there. Even I've been lost these three, four months, my confidence is always inside me, because I always know what I'm capable to do," Zheng said. "It's just I need to show that. Sometimes, the tricky thing is I cannot show I'm so confident because you lose the match and people don't like that.

"I always say without confidence, you cannot win a match. I had lot of tough matches in the qualifiers, tough match here (today). I think it's because those confidence helps me to get those match [wins]. In the future, doesn't matter which stage I am [at], confidence is always going to be there with me, because I feel that's the basic for athlete if you want to win a match."