What a journey so far for Qinwen Zheng 🤩 #AO2024
The conclusion of the 2024 Australian Open saw several WTA players achieving new career highs, including finalist Qinwen Zheng and other young talents like Mirra Andreeva and Marta Kostyuk. The tournament featured several surprises with the early exits of several top-seeded players, providing opportunities for new faces to advance to the later rounds in Melbourne.
The most notable case is that of 21-year-old Chinese player Zheng, who reached her first Grand Slam final. Despite falling to Aryna Sabalenka, Zheng achieved her highest ranking as the world No. 7, making her debut in the top-10. In a tournament where young players stood out, several tennis talents under 23 years old were among the main beneficiaries.
Sixteen-year-old prodigy Mirra Andreeva reached the fourth round, gaining 12 positions to become the new world No. 35. The Russian was defeated by 19-year-old Linda Noskova, a young surprise who rose 30 positions to become the new world No. 30 after reaching the quarterfinals. Marta Kostyuk also reached the quarterfinals and, at 21 years old, will debut in the top-30.
Brenda Fruhvirtova (16 years old) and Maria Timofeva (20 years old) will also make their debut in the top-100, with Timofeeva being one of the surprises in Australia, reaching the fourth round and climbing 70 positions.
It wasn't just the youngest players who emerged with new career-high rankings from the tournament. Notable mentions include Victoriya Tomova, who turns 29 in just a month and will be the new world No. 65. Twenty-six-year-old Magdalena Frech also delivered the best performance of her career in a Grand Slam, narrowly missing the top-50.
Here is the breakdown of the players within the top-100 who achieved their new career highs:
Name | New Career High | Age |
Qinwen Zheng | 7 (top-10 debut) | 21 |
Emma Navarro | 23 | 22 |
Jasmine Paolini | 24 | 28 |
Marta Kostyuk | 28 (top-30 debut) | 21 |
Linda Noskova | 30 | 19 |
Mirra Andreeva | 35 | 16 |
Anna Kalinskaya | 38 (top-50 debut) | 25 |
Magdalena Frech | 51 | 26 |
Victoriya Tomova | 65 | 28 |
Brenda Fruhvirtova | 96 | 16 |
Maria Timofeeva | 100 | 20 |
What a journey so far for Qinwen Zheng 🤩 #AO2024