Grand Slam wild cards are supposed to reward opportunity, but this US Open has fans debating whether the wrong player got shut out of one. Qinwen Zheng, a former world No. 4, has now beaten a Grand Slam champion, reached the quarterfinals, and done all of it the hard way,.
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“Qinwen Zheng, a former Top 5 player and now a 3x US Open quarterfinalist, was snubbed a Wildcard. She had to go through qualies; she has now won 7 matches, 3 more to go, and she’ll become only the 2nd woman to win the US Open as a qualifier,” tennis journalist Pav Gill wrote on X.
That ranking drop traces back to a right elbow surgery after Wimbledon 2025, months on the sidelines, and a first-round exit at this year’s French Open that cost her roughly 60 spots. By August, her ranking had slid to No. 121, well outside the US Open’s direct entry cutoff. For the first time since the 2022 Australian Open, she found herself qualifying for a major.
Zheng beat eighth seed Iga Swiatek in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3, to reach the last eight, her only straight-set win in a run that’s otherwise gone the distance in four separate three-setters. Asked whether grinding through qualifying had actually sharpened her for this stretch, Zheng didn’t pretend the road here was one she had chosen.
“It takes a while for me to accept my ranking dropped to 125, and, okay, I need actually play in qualies. I cannot get any benefit because the wildcard is only for USA players, which I totally understand,” she said in the post-match presser.
While wildcards are also given to players who are not from the US, they do get more preference than the others. This, paired with the overall impact of a player might have landed the organizers to pick Venus and Serena Williams.
Venus received both the singles and the doubles wildcard, whereas Serena settles for just the doubles. They are also two of the biggest names in the sport with a combined 14 major doubles trophies between them, two of which came right here in New York.
However, fans believe that an exception was made for them due to their status as the Williams sisters were inactive in doubles since 2022. No such wildcard reached Zheng, so qualifying was the only path left for her to take. And the two very different standards did not sit well with the fans.
Fans weigh in on the USTA wild card decision
That contrast hasn’t gone unnoticed on social media, where reactions to Zheng’s qualifying run have turned into a pointed comparison against the USTA’s wild card picks, within the same Pav Gill’s X post.
“@usta should be ashamed at themselves for awarding a wild card to Venus and not this talented player; her ranking dropped due to injury. Not grandma status,” one fan wrote.
“They gave a wild card to the 4 years old Venus Williams, and not to this amazing tennis player. Incredible things happening this US Open 2026,” another fan was blunter about the optics.
Some framed it as less about merit and more about narrative. “Sorry, but wildcard is exclusively reserved for Venus Williams so they can craft a comeback story, still trying,” one comment read.
While another fan added, “Weird she’s a top 5 player who had to have elbow surgery, now recovered. What’s up with USTA.”
Not every reply was willing to hand Zheng the title outright, though. “That’s not happening! I promise you that! She’s amazing, but she’s NOT winning the whole slam #usopen #wta,” as one fan pushed back, a reminder that three rounds still stand between her and history.
Three rounds still stand between Zheng and a Grand Slam title, but she’s already turned her trip through qualifying into one of the more compelling runs of this US Open.