If you have been following the US Open this week, Qinwen Zheng is hardly a stranger. The Chinese tennis star has delivered one of the tournament’s most remarkable comebacks, fighting back from 0-5 down in the opening set to defeat six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-3 and book her place in the quarterfinals.

And remarkably, this was not her first escape act in New York. Just two days earlier, Zheng had also rallied from 0-5 down against Madison Keys to win a thrilling three-setter. But while her incredible fighting spirit has made headlines, there is much more to Zheng than her latest US Open heroics. So, who exactly is Qinwen Zheng, and where did her journey begin?

Where is Qinwen Zheng from?

Qinwen Zheng was born on October 8, 2002, in Shiyan, a city in China’s Hubei province. Now 23 years old and standing 5 feet 10 inches tall, Zheng comes from a sporting family. Her father, Zheng Jianping, was a track and field athlete, while her mother is originally from Chengdu, Sichuan. Zheng also has strong family ties to Hubei. Her grandmother is from Xiangyang and was the one who took young Zheng to the city, where she began attending kindergarten.

According to public records, Zheng’s ancestral origin is listed as Gucheng County, her birthplace as Shiyan, and her registered residence as Wuhan. Her connection to Hubei therefore runs deep. At just eight years old, Zheng left Shiyan for Wuhan, roughly 200 kilometers away, to pursue formal tennis training.

Her development then took her beyond Hubei. Zheng later traveled to Beijing to train under Carlos Rodríguez, the renowned coach who had previously worked with Justine Henin and Li Na. In 2019, she moved to Barcelona to continue her development. She also received sports training at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, adding another chapter to a journey that began in Hubei and eventually led her to the biggest stages in tennis.

What is Qinwen Zheng’s nationality?

Qinwen Zheng is Chinese. She competes for China on the WTA circuit and has the Chinese flag beside her name on all leaderboards. Qinwen Zheng made history at the Paris 2024 Olympics when she became the first Asian tennis player to take home an Olympic gold medal in singles.

Both of her parents are Chinese. Her father is Zheng Jianping, hailing from Hubei province. Her mother is Deng Fang, who is from Sichuan province. 

What is Qinwen Zheng’s ethnicity?

Zheng is of Han Chinese ethnicity through and through. And about Han Chinese? They are the dominant ethnic group in China, making up over 90% of the country’s population. So, yes, we can say she was raised in a Chinese cultural environment, speaks Chinese fluently, and her family’s roots run deep in central China. However, she also speaks English and Spanish fluently.

What is Qinwen Zheng’s religion? Is Qinwen Zheng Christian?

There is no public information indicating that Qinwen Zheng practices Christianity or any particular religion. Like many Chinese athletes, she keeps her personal beliefs private and has not disclosed any religious affiliation in interviews or official profiles.

What we know is that her faith, if you want to call it that, has been in her family’s belief in her possibility. Reports suggest that her father spent almost CNY 20 million ($3 million) on her tennis development. There was a time when the family’s finances were so stretched that he nearly sold the family home. That was the kind of devotion that defined her. Not religion, not in the usual sense, but a family’s unshakeable belief in one girl’s future.

Zheng has plenty left in her US Open tank. She will face second-seed Elena Rybakina in Wednesday’s quarterfinal match. It will be their sixth meeting in their careers, but the significance increases, as a win for Rybakina will be a battle for World No. 1. Zheng may have dropped some ranking points after elbow surgery and hasn’t played much since, but watching how well she played in her last two matches, it’s obvious rankings mean nothing to Zheng when she’s in the zone. She’s beaten Swiatek already, and she has come back from 5-0 down on two occasions.