From Olympic glory to rehab mode: Zheng Qinwen fronts Vogue China amid comeback journey

The 2024 Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen continues to dazzle as one of the world's most attention-grabbing athletes, starring on the December cover of Vogue China despite spending half the season off the courts.

The former world No. 4 suffered an elbow injury requiring surgery in mid-2025, shortly after her first-round elimination at Wimbledon against Katerina Siniakova. Consequently, the 2024 Australian Open runner-up was sidelined for nearly four months before finally marking her return at the China Open.

However, upon her arrival in Beijing, Zheng admitted she was not yet 100% physically and hoped to gain rhythm as matches progressed. She debuted with a straightforward 6-3, 6-2 win over Emiliana Arango but was forced to retire mid-match in the second round against Linda Noskova while trailing in the third set (4-6, 6-3, 0-3, ret.). It was the final appearance of the year for the Chinese star, who finished the season as world No. 24 thanks to the points secured during her campaigns in the first half of the year.

Although Zheng hasn't spent much time on court or generated major tour headlines recently, she remains a heavyweight in the commercial sphere. She was recently confirmed for the second consecutive year in the top 10 highest-paid female athletes, ranking No. 5 overall (and 4th among tennis players). Her portfolio includes over $19 million in endorsements compared to just $1.6 million in on-court earnings. Since her gold medal campaign at the Tokyo 2024 Olympics, Zheng has become a bona fide sports superstar, maintaining her status even without consistent results on the Tour.

Zheng has largely kept her distance from the media in recent months, concentrating on her recovery and conditioning to return in top form for the upcoming Australian Swing. However, she took time to participate in the recent photoshoot that served as a styled variant cover for the December edition of Vogue.

"A good professional player should know how to arrange their life," she said to Tennis Channel a few weeks ago. "Before reaching adulthood, your life is arranged for you, and you just need to follow the fixed path. After becoming an adult, once you know what you have chosen, you should take action for your choice: which competitions to participate in and how to allocate your time and energy.”

The world No. 24 is guaranteed entry to the Australian Open as a seeded player, which will allow her to avoid the Tour's heaviest hitters in the early rounds. The 23-year-old is the only top-40 player without confirmed tournaments for the first week of competition and will make her reappearance directly at the Australian Open.

In Melbourne, she will defend second-round points from 2025, where she won her opener against qualifier Anca Todoni (7-6, 6-1) but surprisingly fell to veteran Laura Siegemund in the second round (7-6, 6-3). Zheng finished the season with a 20-12 record and without reaching any WTA finals; her best performances were semifinals at the WTA 1000 Rome Open and WTA 500 Queen’s Club Championships, alongside quarterfinal runs at Roland Garros, Indian Wells, and the Miami Open.