Qinwen Zheng may be just 21, but the Chinese tennis star has already caught the tennis world’s attention at the ongoing Australian Open. She came agonizingly close to emulating her idol, Li Na’s feat of winning a Grand Slam title for China. However, that wasn’t to be as she went down tamely against Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus. Following her defeat, emotions ran high through Zheng.

It was Zheng’s maiden appearance at a Grand Slam final. As a result, she was nervous and it showed in her performance today. Let’s find out what happened to Zheng after the loss.

Qinwen Zheng couldn’t control her emotions

Achieving a rare feat in a country of 1.4 Billion people is sure to catch all the attention. The last Chinese player to reach a major final was Li Na, when she reached the 2014 Australian Open final and defeated Dominika Cibulkova in the summit clash to lift the trophy. However, Zheng couldn’t repeat her idol’s feat.

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After her defeat, Zheng proceeded to the post-match press conference. The emotions ran high there, and Zheng even broke down while she was being interviewed. It was sad to see Zheng in such a state, especially after having a brilliant run to the final of the Grand Slam Down Under.

With Zheng’s defeat, the wait continues for the country of 1.4 Billion people to get a Grand Slam champion. As a result, it made Zheng even more sad that she couldn’t fulfill the wishes of her home fans, who had turned out in numbers to support her.

Meanwhile, Zheng idolizes her country’s last Grand Slam champion, Li Na, since her childhood days. She once revealed why the two-time Grand Slam champion was her idol.

Zheng on idolizing Li Na

The 21-year-old has been highly inspired by the performances of Li Na throughout her career. While Zheng was still in the early days of her tennis career, Li Na was at the peak of her career. As a result, she grew up watching the Chinese legend.

Talking about why she idolizes her, Zheng said, “Li Na won her first grand slam, and I started thinking, oh, Asia Player can also do something good in tennis. It put a little seed in my heart that I also wanted to do it. And I want to try to be like her, you know, and even better.”

Zheng will look to overcome the grief of her defeat at the Australian Open quickly. Can she come back strongly in the upcoming tournaments? Let us know your views in the comments below.

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