Australian Open runner-up Zheng Qinwen will kick off her 2025 season at the grand slam next month, after deciding to skip the United Cup mixed team tournament starting this week.
Beaten in the final of the year’s first major by Aryna Sabalenka in January, the 22-year-old otherwise enjoyed a successful campaign, claiming the Paris Olympics gold medal and WTA Tour titles in Tokyo and Palermo.
Zheng, who was runner-up at the Wuhan Open and the WTA Finals, played 68 matches in the 2024 season, and in an Instagram post on Sunday said she needed “a few extra weeks of rest, recovery, and good training to get ready for the new season”.
“I had such a fantastic time at the United Cup in January of this year, and therefore will miss the event greatly,” Zheng added. “Still, I’m so excited to be back in Australia soon and I will see you all in Melbourne in a couple of weeks.”
China start their campaign in the United Cup in Perth, which runs from December 27 to January 5, against Brazil on Friday with Gao Xinyu as their number one women’s player.
Zhang Zhizhen, who spent the past week training in Hong Kong, was planning to fly to Australia on Sunday to join up with the squad as the top men’s player. The pair will be joined by women’s doubles specialist Zhang Shuai, and Bai Yan and Sun Fajing on the men’s side.
Great Britain's Cameron Norrie fought from a set down to reach the third round at Indian Wells but top seed Alexander Zverev was d
His coach Brad Stine says that these types of big goals are what keeps the New Jersey native motivated. “There are still a lot of things within the sport tha
The latest setback for Nick Kyrgios has the Australian tennis player wondering aloud about his future. A nagging wrist injury forced an emotional Kyrgios to r
The 2025 Indian Wells tournament is well underway as the stars of the WTA Tour search for success in the Californian desert.Several top stars will believe they