NEW YORK — Qualifier Zheng Qinwen did it again. After trailing 0-5 in the opening set, the Olympic gold medalist stormed back to beat No. 8 seed Iga Świątek 7-5, 6-3 on Monday, Sept. 7, 2026, in the US Open round of 16, reaching the women’s singles quarterfinals for the third time, the WTA reported.

It was the second time in three days Zheng had erased a 5-0 hole in a set — she saved match point and won the final seven games against Madison Keys on Saturday. Against Świątek she won seven straight games to take the first set, then closed in under two hours. Official WTA match stats showed Zheng winning 54.3% of total points (75–63) and converting 5 of 13 break points.

Zheng improved to 2-7 lifetime against Świątek on the WTA Tour, with both of her wins coming on the sport’s biggest stages: the 2024 Paris Olympics and now Flushing Meadows. She became the first qualifier or lucky loser to beat Świątek at a Grand Slam — the former World No. 1 had been 15-0 in such matches — and the first qualifier to reach the US Open women’s quarterfinals since Emma Raducanu in 2021.

In her on-court comments after the match, Zheng said she started poorly and rebuilt point by point: “I start the match not so well and little by little I find my radar. I just focus point by point and I found my game … It’s been a long time since I beat a top 10 player.” Guardian live coverage quoted her thanking her team and saying she felt “really pumped” for the next round.

Zheng will face the winner of No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina and No. 13 seed Naomi Osaka in the quarterfinals. Rybakina leads their head-to-head 4-1; if Osaka advances, Zheng holds a 2-1 edge in that rivalry.

Sources