In January, as Qinwen Zheng reached the first grand slam final of her career at the Australian Open, a photograph surfaced of her watching Li Na’s victory at Melbourne Park a decade earlier. Aged 11, she is one of a dozen young Chinese tennis hopefuls gathered around a large TV screen, spellbound by the spectacle of their compatriot’s triumph and no doubt dreaming that, one day, it might be them.
In a country of 1.4 billion people that previously had no meaningful record in tennis, Li was a trailblazer, an example to follow where previously there were none. Her success revolutionised the sport in China, which according to the International Tennis Federation now has more tennis players than any other nation in the world.
But while Li has undeniably been an inspiration, she is also a tough act to follow. In Melbourne, Zheng was unable to mark the 10th anniversary of her fellow countrywoman’s Australian Open success with another Chinese victory, losing the final to Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets. But the 21-year-old has given everything in pursuit of her dream, leaving her home in Shiyan at the age of seven to train in Wuhan, some 275 miles away, and immediately her thoughts turned to improving her game, to taking the final step.
“I just hope next time I can come back as a better tennis player,” said Zheng.
On Saturday afternoon, she did just that. At Roland Garros, the scene of Li’s first major title in 2011, Zheng emerged from the shadow of her celebrated predecessor by defeating Donna Vekic of Croatia 6-2, 6-3, in the process becoming the first Chinese player to win an Olympic gold medal in singles. She did it by meeting the moment; by channelling the disappointment she felt in Australia, where she felt the weight of the occasion all too keenly; by ensuring that, this time, she remained focused and composed.
“I had a lot of nerves [in the Australian Open final,” said Zheng. “My legs were super heavy. I couldn’t perform 50% of my level. But this final was different.
“It’s because of [my] calmness and patience that I was able to get the victory.”
As that analysis might suggest, the match was not a classic. For Vekic, playing the biggest match of her career barely three weeks after contesting what was previously the biggest match of her career, a heart-breaking defeat to Jasmine Paolini in the Wimbledon semi-finals, inspiration came in fits and starts. A slow start from the 28-year-old set the tone, Vekic surrendering her opening service game with a string of unforced errors, and for the remainder of the afternoon she would be playing catch-up.
Struggling to find her range in conditions that were breezier than they have been of late in the French capital, Vekic was unable to land her booming forehand with the consistency required to halt Zheng’s march. The baseline exchanges were tightly contested, but too often they went in Zheng’s favour, denying Vekic the chance to build scoreboard pressure. The quality of the world No 7’s defensive play did not help the Croatian’s cause, with Vekic obliged to win each point several times over in the face of Zheng’s tireless retrieving. Inevitably, Vekic was forced to overpress. She would end the afternoon with 31 unforced errors to just 13 winners, a statistic that told its own story.
Yet for all her evident frustration, it has been a momentous summer for Vekic. Her run to the gold medal match, on a surface where she has never reached a tour-level final – and hard on the heels of a physically and emotionally draining run to a first grand slam semi-final – came only weeks after she considered quitting the game altogether. That nadir came before the French Open, when she felt she was giving everything without getting the results she craved. After defeating second seed Coco Gauff in straight sets, saving a match point in a late-night thriller against Marta Kostyuk, and laying her semi-final demons to rest with an emphatic win over Anna Karolina Scmiedlova, Vekic can have no complaints on that score now.
“After the Wimbledon semi-finals, I had so much pain everywhere that I was debating going to the Olympics, because I thought, ‘In these conditions, there’s no way I can win a medal,’” said Vekic.
“I had pain in my arm, pain in my ankle. I was sick. Everything was happening all at once. When we came here, our flight was cancelled, and we arrived late. Everything was going wrong. When we had our first practice, I told my coach, ‘I am coughing so bad I can’t make two shots in a row.’ One week later, we have a medal, so it’s been absolutely incredible.”
Zheng too has overcome the odds, saving a match point against Emma Navarro, then battling back from 4-1 down in the decider in the quarter-finals to send Angelique Kerber into retirement. Her semi-final win over Iga Swiatek, meanwhile, where she recovered from 4-0 down in the second set, was her first in seven meetings with the Polish world No 1. If the belief she took from that win sustained her against Vekic, a gold medal will sustain her for a good while longer.
“When I became the Olympic champion, I felt a huge burden was lifted off my shoulders,” said Zheng. “Mentally, I feel a lot lighter going forward. Finally, I am able to say to my family, to my father, ‘Come on, I just made history!’”
While a childhood dream has been realised, however, there remains more to do. Zheng may have eclipsed Li as an Olympian – the retired champion’s best result was a fourth-placed finish at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing – but now she must match her childhood idol on the grand slam stage. Now she is the player to emulate, the inspiration for the next generation of Chinese champions.
“I have always been jealous of history-makers like Li Na,” said Zheng. “No matter what, she’s always the first, because she’s the first Asian player to win a grand slam. And I now become the first Asian player to win Olympic gold. I made history, as well.
“However, I still have a long way to go, because winning a grand slam is always my dream.”