"I don't want to put extra pressure, but somehow there always is when I play in the Chinese season" - Expectation piles as Zheng Qinwen returns home to adoring support

It is a welcoming return to China for Zheng Qinwen. An absolute star in her home country, the former World No.4 will look to put on a show in what she has called the 'fifth Grand Slam' at the China Open in Beijing.

An elbow injury suffered around Wimbledon last year has seen Zheng plummet down the rankings at a rapid rate. The 2024 Olympics champion and former Australian Open finalist was China's next big talent in the sport, and the support she has got from that has been huge.

This made it all the more painful when her abrupt return to tennis on home soil came crumbling down. She retired from the third round of the China Open before being forced to pull out of the subsequent Wuhan Open, the event she made the final of just a year prior.

Now fit and healthy after a return to form at the US Open, Zheng noted the pressure of playing in front of her own people while also relishing this task at hand.

"I think to play in China is like playing the fifth Grand Slam for me," Zheng said during her pre-tournament press conference. "They are the same importance. Of course, I want to performance super well in front of my people. I have extra pressure, yes. In the same time I also get extra support from all the fans, so I have nothing to complain."

Zheng was always going to be in line for a wildcard to her home event. Her ranking has improved drastically over the past month thanks to a run to the quarter-finals of the US Open. Defeating Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek in memorable comebacks, she lost out to the eventual champion Elena Rybakina after pushign the World No.1 all the way.

She had to qualify for the tournament in New York and started to find some rhythm again on court. Consistency had been a bit of a niggling issue for her, but there is the chance to continue where she left off from Flushing Meadows, going from outside the top 120 to No. 54.

"Right now for me it's a new tournament, we're in China Open," Zheng said. "I think it's not going to be easy this year because my ranking right now is still 50. I still got lots of matches to go, I still want to win lot of matches."

The surgery came at a brutal time. It took a while for her to get back up to speed as the elbow problem abolished any prior progress made. "Somehow the surgery stopped my progress, I had to start kind of from zero again," Zheng commented. "Ranking right now for me is a number. Of course, it shows what I did in the last one year. I know where I'm capable to be."

There is a long way to go. "Here is not the place where I deserve. My highest ranking is No. 4, I still believe I could do much better than that. I really want to see what I can bring in the future, and I know deep inside me [I can], but I have to prove it."

The pressure again was a big talking point. The 23-year-old has many pairs of eyes watching her every move, and this can be rather daunting. "I got a lot of fans here in China. Of course, they expect I do better in China. Same as I. I really want to do good here in China Open, so this also puts some extra pressure. I don't want to put extra pressure, but somehow there always is when I play in the Chinese season."

Zheng's first round opponent is against qualifier and fellow countrywoman Han Shi. The winner will take on Roland Garros quarter-finalist and 15th seed Anna Kalinskaya in the second round. A fourth round showdown against Rybakina is very much on the cards.