Australian Open: ‘Queen Wen’ will bounce back, Chinese tennis fans say after setback in first grand slam final
- Zheng Qinwen consoled on Chinese social media after loss to Aryna Sabalenka in Melbourne
- The ‘tortuous road to pursue a grand slam dream’ of compatriot Li Na is recalled as commenters back Zheng to prevail eventually
Zheng was trending on Chinese social media platform Weibo during Saturday’s final against Aryna Sabalenka in Melbourne, with a post about her performance being viewed over 100 million times and people calling her the “hope for Chinese tennis”.
On Sunday, another Weibo topic, viewed over 300 million times, argued that the 21-year-old, affectionately known as Queen Wen, was too tenacious to allow losing her first grand-slam final to hinder her progress.
It referenced Li, China’s sole grand-slam singles title winner. Li had lost her own first grand-slam final, also in Australia, in 2011 before triumphing at the French Open a little over four months later. She lost another Australian Open final in 2013 before finally prevailing there the following year to finish with two major crowns.
“Thinking about Li Na’s tortuous road to pursue a grand slam dream, Zheng Qinwen is only one step away from the ultimate goal, and of course, it is also the most difficult step,” Chinese tennis reporter Zhang Bendou said on Weibo.
