Qinwen eliminates world number 1 Swiatek from the Olympics

Zheng Qinwen of China won against world number 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland 6-2, 7-5 in the Paris Olympics ½ finals today, a shocking result for the WTA leader and champ of the Roland-Garros in the 4 of the past 5 years.

The Zheng’s victory was hard to predict for a number of reasons. Iga entered the match with a 6-0 edge in their head-to-head matchups. Swiatek has led the WTA rankings for nearly every week in the past 2 years, while Zheng is world number 7. In addition, just when the Polish appeared to be getting back into the clash with a 4-0 lead in the 2^nd set, she choked.

WOW.

Zheng Qinwen upsets the world #1 Iga Swiatek 6-2, 7-5 from 0-4 down in the 2nd set to reach the #Olympics final in #Paris2024.

She will play for GOLD on Saturday!

First Chinese man or woman into an Olympic final in #tennis.

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Iga's 1st loss at RG venue since 2021! pic.twitter.com/hp0goMTpyC

— José Morgado (@josemorgado) August 1, 2024

The most intriguing part? Iga is as good as it gets on clay and at this particular venue. Swiatek has been dominant at the French Open, where the matches from the Olympics are played.

Qinwen (21), who lost the final against Aryna Sabalenka at the Australian Open at the beginning of the year, assured his country its 1^st singles medal in Olympic tennis since the sport returned to the competition in 1988.