"He doesn’t allow me to get relaxed": Zheng Qinwen credits Pere Riba's return for her Miami Open resurgence

Zheng Qinwen credited Pere Riba's return to her team for helping her overcome a tough start to the year. The World No. 9 struggled early in 2024, suffering a second-round exit at the Australian Open — where she was defending a final — followed by opening-round losses at the Qatar Open and Dubai Open.

Zheng arrived at Indian Wells with doubts about her form but managed to push past her early setbacks, reaching the quarterfinals with straight-set wins over Victoria Azarenka, Lulu Sun, and Marta Kostyuk. However, she fell short against Iga Swiatek (3-6, 3-6), extending the Pole’s head-to-head record over her to 7-1.

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Riba’s influence on Zheng’s rise has been undeniable. In 2023, under his guidance, she reached the Australian Open final, claimed the Palermo Open title, made the semifinals at the China Open, and reached the finals at both the Wuhan Open and the WTA Finals — climbing to a career-high World No. 5.

Their partnership was interrupted when Riba had to take a break due to health issues, with Zheng choosing to wait for his recovery to resume working together. During his absence, she trained briefly with Argentine coach Dante Bottini, known for his work with Kei Nishikori, Grigor Dimitrov, and Nicolas Jarry.

Riba’s return during the Sunshine Double has been a breath of fresh air for Zheng, who looked sharp in her Miami Open debut, easing past Lauren Davis 6-1, 7-5, hitting 12 aces and winning 73% of her service points.

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The 22-year-old Chinese star praised Riba’s impact on her game “I think the thing I missed the most is that he always pushes me hard on court. He doesn’t allow me to get relaxed. That’s why I can keep going forward. When he wasn’t there for those three months, I had trouble with my body… I wasn’t able to practice 100%. Now it seems like I’m going in a good direction.”

Pere Riba’s return marks a new chapter for Zheng, who aims to regain top form. Their history together goes back to 2021 when Riba first coached Zheng before briefly joining Coco Gauff’s team in 2023. During that remarkable season, Gauff won the WTA 500 DC Open, the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open, and the US Open. Riba rejoined Zheng after Wim Fissette abruptly ended his coaching relationship with her to return to Naomi Osaka’s team, leading Zheng to reunite with Riba once more.

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