Zheng Qinwen has undergone successful surgery on her right elbow to address persistent pain in her right elbow which has been impacting her play.
The current World No.6 lost early to Katerina Siniakova at Wimbledon and withdrew earlier this week from Washington. She took to RedNote, a Chinese social media platform to post a picture of herself in a hospital bed accompanied by a long message.
This was soon put onto Instagram by the Chinese ace for those who cannot access the platform. She noted though that the process which was to have arthroscopy on her elbow went smoothly and that she will be back soon.
"I want to share a quick update with you all. Over the past months, I’ve been dealing with persistent pain in my right elbow during training and matches. Despite trying various treatments to manage it, the discomfort never fully went away.
"After consulting with elbow specialists and discussing thoroughly with my team, we decided that arthroscopic surgery was the best option to fully resolve the issue. Yesterday, I underwent the procedure successfully, and I’m grateful to have it behind me.Now begins the recovery journey.
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"Over the next few weeks and months, I’ll be focusing entirely on rehab—doing everything I can to come back stronger and healthier.This is just a short break, and I see it as a necessary step toward a better version of myself on court. Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement. I can’t wait to be back—see you soon!
It has been a weird season for Zheng Qinwen. She reached the final of the WTA Finals losing out to Coco Gauff and was one of the best players in the world at the end of last season. But like many including Diana Shnaider and Katie Boulter, it proved to be a bit of a thankless task in the end as coaching changes and loss of form in between the seasons proved to be an issue.
The 22-year-old could've been a real threat for the US Open title but it looks very likely now that she won't be involved at all at Flushing Meadows and likely will be targeting a return at the end of the year.
This could also spell the end of her season in regards to big tournaments with only the visit to Asia which will likely be targeted at the end of the year likely to gleam a return. Apart from that all eyes will promptly be on the Australian Open in the coming months.
Zheng Qinwen was ultra impressive in 2024 but has hit a stumbling block - now due to injury.
She also has had coaching changes at times this year which have thrown her off with Pere Riba in particular having to undergo surgery. He was the magic behind their partnership before he then went off to Coco Gauff but he returned after Wim Fissette left to rejoin Naomi Osaka.
He then joined Iga Swiatek of course and their partnership has just born fruit in regards to winning Wimbledon. Zheng is usually poor when it comes to Wimbledon and has been in recent years but wasn't a massive threat for most of the year.
Which now has been owed to the fact that she has had an elbow issue that she has been unable to get operated on but given this window of time between tournaments, she has been able to return and aims to get fighting fit again very soon.
From Olympic Gold and such a good 2024 to now being on the recovery table, not a player who ordinarily is injured Zheng Qinwen now has to find her way back after having the tennis world at her feet at points in 2024.
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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