This article is part of On the Baseline’s 2009 Players to Watch Series. Please join us for a special look at several rising and resurgent stars on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.
Zheng Jie shook the tennis world at Wimbledon 2008 by her shocking run to the semifinals. When I thought about which player to write about for the Players to Watch series, I chose the 25-year-old Zheng because she impressed me with her Wimbledon performance and I am very much interested in how the next season will look for her.
Also, China is expected to be more and more dominant in tennis – we already know about the WTA Tour’s major presence and expansion into the China market, and Zheng is definitely an important part of the Chinese tennis growth.
Zheng entered this year’s Wimbledon as a wildcard ranked 133rd, and she did not score one upset, which could have been just a stroke of luck, but a series of them.
On her way to the semifinals, Zheng defeated No.30 seed Dominika Cibulkova, top seed and French Open champion Ana Ivanovic, No.15 seed Agnes Szavay and No.18 seed Nicole Vaidisova. Isn’t that amazing? Even in her semifinal against Serena Williams, Zheng had a set point at 6-5 in the second set.
I believe that the presence of Chinese tennis players will grow in the future, and Zheng may be among the first ones to introduce that concept. Why? Because she is the first Chinese to reach a Grand Slam semifinal, the first from her country to beat a reigning world No.1, and was at the time the lowest-ranked player ever to achieve the feat, as well as the most successful female wildcard competitor in Wimbledon’s history.
However, it is not only the results that make Zheng Jie a player I find appealing. When you see her on the court with her behavior, stamina, power and speed, you instantly begin to like her and get the need to remember her name and follow her future career.
And off court she did not disappoint either. Her largest paycheck of £187,500, earned at Wimbledon, Zheng donated to the victims of the Sichuan earthquake that devastated her home province in China.
Zheng began the 2008 season ranked 163rd, only to finish it at No.25. Does she have what it takes to climb the rankings further in 2009 and stay at the top for a while? Do you also expect more tennis stars to come from China in the future? I would love to hear your opinion.
Marija Zivlak writes about women’s tennis at www.womenstennisblog.com.
Marija,
Jie Zheng played remarkably at Wimbledon last year, and like you mentioned, it was not a case of beginners luck. One win could have been termed an upset; a semifinal finish is a solid and consistent performance.
I think she can go higher in 2009. She has the backing of an eager, if somewhat unorthodox and restricting tennis federation, who are anxiously looking for a big champion. Their Beijing Olympic dreams were crushed, but at least they saw in Zheng what could happen in the future if their stars stay focused and dedicated to the sport.
Thank you for your article!
I hope she will do well in 2009, I would love to see her make it big. A bigger impact of Chinese tennis in the future would also be a breath of fresh air. It would be interesting.
It was a pleasure writing for your blog, as always.
Great choice, Marija. Zheng also holds the distinction of being a highly-ranked doubles player who suddenly broke through in a big way in singles. Will she now put more emphasis on singles, or will she continue to concentrate on her high doubles ranking? It’s possible to do both (Petrova, Hantuchova, etc.) well, provided you are healthy. Yan and Zheng are a great team, and I hope they keep going.
Thank you, Diane.
I would like to see Zheng continue her singles rise. If she can do that without neglecting doubles, even better.
From what I’ve read, Zheng has mentioned she would like to focus more on singles this year, but she’ll still team up with Yan in the bigger tournaments, like the Grand Slams. Let’s hope she’ll continue to succeed in both singles and doubles.