China's top tennis ace Zheng Qinwen wins Tokyo tournament

Two years since making her career first WTA final in Tokyo, China's top tennis ace Zheng Qinwen wasted no time to reign supreme in the Japanese capital by winning the tournament at just her second try on Sunday.

Riding on a surging form that had seen her collect two titles over the past three months, Zheng backed up her elite credentials on top of the women's game by claiming her third at the WTA500 tournament in Tokyo after she outplayed 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin of the United States in straight sets on Sunday.

The hard-fought 7-6(5), 6-3 win was Zheng's 28th victory out of 32 matches she's played since Wimbledon, building on a momentum that helped her defend her clay-court title at the WTA250 tournament in Palermo, Italy in July before claiming the coveted Olympic gold medal in Paris also on the red clay on Aug 3.

Zheng now has an 8-1 career win-loss record at the Tokyo tournament, where she reached her first singles final on the WTA Tour in 2022, only finishing runner-up to eventual winner Liudmila Samsonova.

By going one step further in her second Tokyo trip, Zheng has increased her career title collection to five while cementing her status as one of the most dominant women's players this season.

Zheng thanked her team, including her coach, fitness trainer and physiotherapist during her post-final interview, paying tribute to the support of her adoring fans, saying "thank you!" in Chinese to particularly address her home fans rooting for her in Tokyo.

"I will not be here without you. You are really important to me and to bring me here. All of you did a great job with me. I want to say I really appreciate that you guys are here and thank you so much," Zheng said to her team after beating the 26th-ranked Kenin in one hour and 52 minutes.

Zheng had already hit new milestones during this year's autumn stretch. After fighting into her second quarterfinals at the US Open on Sept 2, Zheng made her first career WTA 1000 semifinal in Beijing, then followed up a week later by reaching her first WTA 1000 final in Wuhan.

Zheng's hot late-season form has helped her clinch one of the last remaining singles spots at the year-ending WTA Finals in Riyadh next month.

An almost complete player at her best, Zheng dictated the play in Sunday's final by taking advantage of her powerful serve by hitting an incredible barrage of 16 aces in the match, bringing her season total up to 406 to lead all women's on the WTA Tour this year.