No Seventh Straight Loss for Zheng Qin Wen to Sabalenka

ROME, WEDNESDAY – Inspired by the famous quote from former American tennis player Vitas Gerulaitis, Zheng Qing Wen finally defeated the world number one, Aryna Sabalenka, after losing to her six consecutive times. This victory led Zheng to face Cori Gauff, a player who has also consistently defeated her.

Before meeting in the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 tournament in Rome on Wednesday (14/5/2025) local time, Zheng had never been able to defeat Sabalenka in six encounters, including when she had her closest chance in the final of the WTA 1000 in Wuhan 2024. In front of her home crowd, the Chinese female tennis player lost 3-6, 7-5, 3-6. That moment marked Zheng's fourth defeat since they faced each other at the Grand Slam event of the US Open in 2023.

In the seventh attempt during the first competition outside of hard courts, Zheng was finally able to conquer Sabalenka. On the clay court of Foro Italico, Rome, Italy, Zheng won with a score of 6-4, 6-3.

The moment of victory for Zheng is compared to the competition among fellow American male tennis players, Gerulaitis and Jimmy Connors, during the 1970s. After consistently losing in 16 encounters, Gerulaitis finally defeated Connors in the semifinals of the 1979 Masters Cup tournament held in early 1980.

Following the win, Gerulaitis's comment became a famous quote: "Nobody beats Gerulaitis 17 times in a row."

Zheng did the same in her match against Sabalenka, despite having "only" lost six times. Zheng stated that her comfort playing on clay courts was the key to her victory.

"All this time, I have tried to defeat him and have come very close several times. This is the first time we meet on clay courts. I feel that when playing on clay, I am more comfortable because I have good experience," said Zheng.

The best moment for the 22-year-old tennis player on clay was when he won the gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics. He achieved this at Roland Garros, Paris, the venue typically used for the French Open Grand Slam. One of his victories was against the top clay court player, Iga Swiatek, in the semifinals.

Playing on clay, which bounces the ball slower than hard and grass, Zheng can be more patient. Patience in holding rallies actually led to Sabalenka making more errors. Sabalenka made 27 unforced errors, almost double her 15 winners.

After losing a few times in the semi-finals here, I was hoping to make it to the final.

That performance allowed Zheng to advance past the quarterfinals, a stage that had consistently held her back at the WTA Rome for the past two years. Next, Zheng's comfort and patience will be tested by Cori Gauff.

The American tennis player commonly known as Coco has always won against Zheng in their two encounters, one of which took place at the same tournament and venue a year ago. At that time, Coco defeated Zheng in the quarterfinals with a score of 7-6 (4), 6-1.

Coco secured a semifinal ticket after defeating Mirra Andreeva. The victory with a score of 6-4, 7-6 (5) not only increased her winning record to 4-0 against the 18-year-old Russian player but also will elevate Coco to the second position in the world rankings. Coco will rise one spot, displacing Swiatek, in the WTA rankings to be released early next week, following the tournament.

Coco previously held that position in mid-June 2024. However, after that, she was consistently ranked below Sabalenka and Swiatek. Coco's return to the second rank was also influenced by Swiatek's failure to defend her WTA Rome championship title after being eliminated in the third round.

During the five-month duration of the 2025 competition season, Swiatek failed to defend four titles from the WTA 1000 level, namely in Doha, Indian Wells, Madrid, and Rome. The former world number one lost many points, resulting in a confirmed drop in her ranking.

The quarterfinal match between Coco and Andreeva became a contest between two of the youngest tennis players in the top ten of the world rankings. Andreeva, who will rise from seventh to sixth place, is 18 years old and follows in the footsteps of Coco (21 years old), who has been a competitor among the world's top tennis players since her teenage years.

Andreeva made a surprise by winning the WTA 1000 consecutively this year while competing in Doha and Indian Wells. At Indian Wells, she defeated Swiatek and Sabalenka in the semifinals and finals.

However, Andreeva has not been able to find a way to beat Coco. Her performance in Rome was actually better than when she lost to Coco in the WTA Madrid quarterfinals two weeks ago. However, Andreeva was less solid in key moments such as the tie break. Coco was able to defend the rallies better which made Andreeva fail to get points because of her mistakes.

"At the end of the day, whoever can defend better wins. We played tight in the tie-break. Today, I didn't play well in some factors, but I'm happy to be able to defend," Coco said on the WTA website.

The semifinal against Zheng marks the third for Coco in Rome after 2021 and 2023. At the WTA Rome 2021, when the top ranks of women's tennis were still held by Ashleigh Barty, Naomi Osaka, and Simona Halep, Coco made a surprise by advancing to the final four.

She eliminated Sabalenka in the third round, Barty in the quarterfinals, before being stopped by Swiatek. Swiatek again defeated Coco in the semifinals of 2023 and became champion for the third time after 2020 and 2021.

"After losing several times in the semifinals here, I hope to advance to the final," said Coco.

Another semifinal featured the host's mainstay, Jasmine Paolini, against Peyton Stearns. For both tennis players, this semifinal marks their first in Rome. Stearns, in fact, has reached the WTA 1000 semifinal for the first time.

The unseeded American tennis player eliminated a seeded player and two Grand Slam champions on the way to the semifinals. She defeated the fifth-seeded Australian Open champion, Madison Keys, in the third round. Following that, Stearns triumphed over four-time Grand Slam champion, Naomi Osaka, in the fourth round, and then secured a victory against the 16th seed, Elina Svitolina, in the quarterfinals.

In the competition among male tennis players at the same venue in the ATP Masters 1000 level, Carlos Alcaraz maintained his consistency on clay courts. He advanced to the semifinals after defeating Jack Draper 6-4, 6-4.

Alcaraz competed in Rome after performing well in two other clay tournaments. He won the Monte Carlo Masters and reached the final of the ATP 500 Barcelona, although he lost to Holger Rune.

His opponent in the semifinals was Lorenzo Musetti, the home player whom he defeated in the final of the Monte Carlo Masters. Musetti eliminated the second seed, Alexander Zverev, with a score of 7-6 (1), 6-4.

The other semifinal tickets contested through the quarter-finals will take place on Thursday. The world number one tennis player, Jannik Sinner, will face the Madrid Masters champion, Casper Ruud, while Hubert Hurkacz will compete against Taylor Fritz. (afp/reuters)