Tennis: Olympic champ Zheng pulls out of Ningbo Open citing health reasons

Ningbo (China) Oct 16 Chinese player Zheng Qinwen withdrew from the ongoing WTA Ningbo Tennis Open due to health reasons.

As a WTA 500 event, the main draw of the Ningbo Tennis Open began on October 14, attracting several top-ranked players.

"I deeply regret having to withdraw from the Ningbo tournament. After competing in the China Open and the Wuhan Open, I have sustained some injuries and have also caught a cold. I hope to return and compete in Ningbo next year. I sincerely apologise for my withdrawal," said Paris Olympic champion Zheng in a statement, as quoted by Xinhua.

According to the schedule, the top four seeds received a bye in the first round. As the second seed, Zheng was originally scheduled to play in the second round against the winner of the match between Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic and Australian player Olivia Gadecki.

Zheng's season was highlighted by her history-making run at the Paris 2024 Olympics. There, Zheng toppled World No.1 Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals and went on to deliver China's first Olympic singles gold medal.

She followed her Olympic glory by making a second consecutive US Open quarterfinal, a semifinal on home soil at the China Open in Beijing, and going one better at her hometown event Wuhan Open, where she is into her first career WTA 1000 final but lost to Aryana Sabalenka.

Zheng is hoping to become the first Chinese player in over a decade to qualify for the WTA Finals Riyadh, the tour's season-ending championships. The Top 7 players on the PIF Race to the WTA Finals will automatically qualify for Riyadh.

The Chinese entered the Asian swing at No.9 on the Race Leaderboard. After Wuhan, she surged into the No.7 position with two weeks remaining in the regular season.

Source: IANS