Zheng Qinwen's US Open Run Ends in the Quarter-Finals as Rybakina Takes No. 1

Zheng Qinwen's remarkable US Open is over. In Wednesday's quarter-final in New York, the Olympic champion took the first set off second seed Elena Rybakina, then lost her way in a 6-3, 1-6, 4-6 defeat that ended the deepest qualifying-run story of the tournament — and handed the world No. 1 ranking to her opponent.

Two weeks ago, Zheng was ranked 121st and playing qualifying rounds for the first time in her career, having fought her way back from a long injury layoff. What followed was the best week of her season: five straight wins, including two over Grand Slam champions and the wild 0-5 comeback against Iga Swiatek, which carried her into the last eight. On Wednesday she led by a set before Rybakina's serve and returning weight began to tell; a string of missed chances in the third set decided it.

"The key points were my own problem — once I got broken, every point stopped being under my control," Zheng said afterwards in an interview with the streaming platform Migu, posted minutes after the match. "Playing from qualifying to here wasn't easy, and I'm proud of myself. But you can always do better — including today." In a separate press interview she was more reflective: "Losing is a pity, but I've gained a lot of positive things. Going through that low period taught me to rein in my edge."

For Rybakina, the win carries its own history: a first US Open semi-final, a fifth Grand Slam last four, and the WTA top ranking for the first time, ending Aryna Sabalenka's reign. The 27-year-old Kazakh, who has now beaten Zheng three times this year, was measured about the milestone. "Right now it's just a number," she told reporters. "In tennis everything changes quickly — I just focus on recovering and enjoying tomorrow's match."

The Chinese response to the defeat was strikingly warm. State broadcaster segments led with her run, not the loss; the tournament's own social accounts posted her "report card" — qualifying survivor, quarter-finalist, two Slam champions beaten, ranking back inside the top 60 — and her home province's sports bureau sent a public letter praising her, saying success and defeat are both part of sharpening a player. On Zhihu, the match post-mortem turned less on blame than on a question that would have sounded absurd a month ago: whether a player who came from 121st in the world is now, once more, a contender.

Zheng's next tour stop is the Asian hard-court swing this autumn. Whatever comes next, the fortnight in New York did its job: a former finalist written off in August left as the biggest story of the tournament's first week — and, once again, the reason Chinese tennis is on the world's main stage.