Chinese qualifier Zheng Qinwen secured a remarkable fourth-round victory at the US Open on September 7, 2026, defeating eighth seed Iga Świątek 7-5, 6-3 at Arthur Ashe Stadium after erasing another 5-0 opening-set deficit.
Zheng Qinwen’s Repeat Comeback Against Iga Świątek
Zheng Qinwen is most dangerous when she is down. On September 7, 2026, the 2024 Olympic gold medalist pulled off an extraordinary escape at Arthur Ashe Stadium, defeating six-time major champion Iga Świątek 7-5, 6-3 to reach the US Open quarterfinals. Like a dislodged train cart rolling down a hill, Zheng started slowly and picked up speed until she became unstoppable.
Świątek flew to a 5-0 lead in the first set by playing the patient tennis that earned her the Canadian Open title, breaking the sidelines with her forehand and letting Zheng make errors on both serve and return. Yet, just two days after she was down 5-0 in the third set before winning the final seven games to stun No. 22 Madison Keys 1-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5, Zheng quickly dropped the first five games against Świątek and repeated the feat. She settled in and started serving better, calmly rattling off games while Świątek, flustered by the turn, struggled to raise her level to match.
Zheng Qinwen
Zheng stated that at one moment she even forgot the score in the first set was 4-5, adding that it showed how focused she was and that she guessed coming back from 0-5 again was not just a matter of luck.
Świątek’s Post-Match Assessment
For Świątek, 25, a fourth-round exit is a disappointing end to her Grand Slam season, with a quarter-final appearance at the Australian Open her best result. She was beaten in round four of the French Open, while the defence of her Wimbledon title ended in the third round. It means that, for the first time since 2021, Świątek will end a year without winning one of the sport’s four majors.
Świątek had entered the US Open in excellent form by winning the WTA 1000 event in Toronto and getting to the semi-finals in Cincinnati, while she had progressed through to round four without dropping a set. Reflecting on losing the first set to Zheng, Świątek received treatment to her left thigh when leading 2-1 in the second set, and said she simply missed too many shots after going 5-0 up.
The six-time major winner stated that her focus was the same as always and that she wanted to play as she usually did, but she had simply started missing too much, wanted to adjust, and nothing seemed to work at that point.
She added that she knew she was going to have another chance and wanted to use it, but she missed them all.
Świątek stated that she would not say it had anything to do with mentality, explaining instead that it was more a case of her starting to make mistakes on easy balls while Qinwen stopped making mistakes and played the shots better.
Historical Context and Qualification Struggle
This was a remarkable turn of events for a wide variety of reasons. A player winning seven games in a row from 0-5 down in consecutive sets against two different opponents is almost unheard of at the highest level; doing so against two grand slam champions has never happened before.
Zheng made a daring escape from a 5-0 deficit for the second straight match, beating No. 8 seed Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-3 to become the first qualifier to reach the final eight in Flushing Meadows since Emma Raducanu won the title in 2021. Her heavy groundstrokes started pushing Swiatek behind the baseline, and she managed to win seven consecutive games, recovering from 0-5 to take the opening set 7-5. In the second set, Zheng continued her momentum to close out the victory.
Rybakina’s No. 1 Ranking Chase and Quarterfinal Outlook
Elena Rybakina overpowered Naomi Osaka at the U.S. Open and is a win away from the No. 1 ranking in women’s tennis. She just has to beat Zheng Qinwen, which won’t be easy. Even when Zheng goes down—way, way down—she refuses to stay there. Rybakina advanced to the quarterfinals Monday with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Osaka in a matchup of power-hitting Grand Slam champions.
Elena Rybakina
The No. 2-seeded Rybakina is guaranteed to replace Aryna Sabalenka atop the WTA rankings if she reaches the semifinals in Flushing Meadows.
Rybakina acknowledged that of course she wanted the top ranking and did not know anyone who would not wish for it, noting that it was definitely one of her goals. She added that she tried to approach things the same way, do everything she could, fight until the end in her next match, and see what would happen.
Trying to stop her will be Zheng, who made a daring escape from a 5-0 deficit for the second straight match to set up an impending quarterfinal showdown.
