Setting a gold standard
Despite her narrow defeat in Riyadh, Zheng Qinwen has set herself a high bar for next season
Resilient, tenacious, brave — whatever superlatives have been used to describe her remarkable year, they all seemed to pale at the moment Zheng Qinwen narrowly missed out on what would have been a perfect sign-off to her 2024 season.
As inconsolable as she looked when receiving the runner-up plate at the King Saud University Indoor Arena, Zheng has every reason to be proud of herself, having lived up to all the praise, regardless of the 6-3, 4-6, 6(2)-7 defeat to world No 3 Coco Gauff in the championship match of the WTA Finals on Saturday in Riyadh.
Coming so close to the coveted year-end trophy, as well as the most lucrative paycheck in women's tennis history, for sure will sting for a while, but the ambitious 22-year-old has already left the tennis world in no doubt that what has already been a fruitful 2024 campaign is just the beginning.
After all, it was only her third full season competing on the elite-level WTA Tour. Zheng collected four titles on the Tour, added an Olympic gold to her trophy cabinet on her Games debut this summer, before fighting into the championship match at the season finale in her first attempt.
Already so sharp and so bright, there's so much more to feel excited about, knowing that the young star is never satisfied, no matter how much progress she's made.
"I think the positive thing is that, whatever happens on court, I fight," Zheng said of arguably the closest defeat of her season.
"And I had a great season. It's my first time at the WTA Finals. And, you know, even though the final didn't go my way, I have still learned a lot.
"This is tennis. It's like you fight, but you are not always the one (to win). But, if you always keep going, and stay in that spot, you will get your chance, I think.
"Tennis-wise, of course, I always need to improve, but I will stay strong (from this loss), and let's see what happens next."
Even with Gauff walking away with the additional $2.5 million winner's bonus, Zheng's runner-up finish in the Saudi capital still delivered a not unsubstantial $2.3 million prize, the biggest she's ever received at a single tournament. It takes her season's earnings to $5.55 million, and career total to around $8.31 million.
