Comeback queen holds court

Even if she doesn't win it all in New York in the end, Zheng Qinwen's 2026 US Open campaign will surely go down as the most dramatic display of tenacity the sport has ever seen.

Hard on the heels of Saturday's jaw-dropping escape act, which saw her rally back from 0-5 down in the decider to upset home favorite Madison Keys, Zheng stunned the world again by erasing another 0-5 deficit in the first set of her fourth-round clash with Iga Swiatek, before she sent the Pole star packing in tears with a thrilling 7-5, 6-3 win on Monday at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

As first demonstrated by her comeback against Keys, the 2025 Australian Open winner, and now by that against Swiatek, a former world No 1 and six-time major champion, the biggest takeaway from this year's US Open is simple: do not, by any means, think a lead of 5-0 is enough to prevail over Zheng.

Such a remarkable turn of events — a player winning seven games in a row from 0-5 down twice in consecutive sets against two different opponents within 48 hours — has never happened before at any major tournament, thus making it the most intriguing storyline this year in New York.

A picture combo posted by the US Open, showing the drastic change of scoreline from Zheng trailing 0-5 in the third set to winning 1-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5, after the match against Keys has become the most-liked topic among all tournament official posts on both Instagram and X so far, having racked up over 140,000 clicks on each platform by Tuesday.

Zheng's comeback in the first set against Swiatek prompted the tournament to even compare her to some of the all-time greats, tweeting "Game 6 Michael Jordan. Tiger Woods on Sundays. Zheng Qinwen down 0-5" in an X post on Tuesday.

And that speaks volumes of the reigning Olympic champion's mental strength in addition to her powerful serve and blistering groundstrokes.

"My confidence is always there. I always know what I am capable of doing, I just need to show that," Zheng said of the key to beating Swiatek for a second straight time after outplaying the four-time French Open winner in their semifinal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

That upset of the clay-tennis maestro at Paris 2024 at Roland Garros also saw Zheng overcome a huge 0-4 deficit in the second set to eliminate Swiatek on her way to delivering China's first singles Olympic top prize.

After having her back against the wall in the opening set, Zheng unleashed her ruthless, yet super-composed self again as she started to fire on all cylinders during a seemingly invincible stretch, winning 13 of the next 16 games, including seven in a row in the first set, to clinch the straight-sets win in one hour and 56 minutes under the center court spotlight.

Zheng confessed that she was too focused midway through her fightback that she even lost track of the score.

"I started the match really slow, that's why she was able to lead 5-0," said Zheng who even stayed on the court waiting for the next play after pulling back to 4-5 when it was supposed to be a changeover after the ninth game in the first set.

"I just told myself, 'OK, I need to play this shot there and that ball there, and on the next point repeat it.'

"Little by little, I found my rhythm and I started to play aggressive tennis. And then I just hung in there, trying to remain focused," said the former world No 4, who entered the US Open as a qualifier having dropped to No 121 due to an arduous recovery from surgery on her right elbow last summer. Swiatek, who won the US Open title in 2022, appeared increasingly frustrated during the match, and after surrendering a huge lead in the loss, burst into tears in the players' tunnel after leaving the court before losing her cool when facing media.

"It's just one match. I try to play the same way as usual. What do you mean? Do you think it's something crazy?" the Pole star replied clearly agitated when answering a question during her post-match news conference.

"You can lose a set from any score, nothing special about that. That's what happened and that's it."

Zheng will now challenge world No 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in a quarterfinal showdown, looking for a breakthrough in New York after having twice reached the same round in Flushing Meadows in 2023 and 2024.

"Her serve is the biggest weapon," Zheng said of Rybakina's strength. "But it doesn't matter who I play against. I will try to focus on playing my tennis and try to keep fighting the same with good energy."

From a struggling first half of this season, during which she never won more than two matches in a row before arriving in New York, to being three wins away from claiming her first major title in the Big Apple, Zheng hails her tough comeback from a long injury layoff as an invaluable learning curve.

"I think those losses were maybe necessary for me to understand I need to stay humble and to continue working hard to come back to my best," said the 23-year-old native of Hubei province, who reached her peak season in 2024 with a final run at the Australian Open and winning Olympic gold.

"I feel in sport there is no gift. If you stop working hard, the result shows everything."