Tennis fans all know that Zheng Qinwen is capable of tennis greatness, as she won a gold medal for China at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She hasn't yet won a major, but she made the final of the Australian Open two years ago. She could win the US Open, but she first had to get into the main draw.
To do that, she first had to defeat Elena Pridankina in her final qualifying match. The irony was that after missing months with an elbow injury that became too much to play with in July 2025, the Chinese player wasn't out of the sport long enough to have a protected ranking. If she had stayed out longer, she would have automatically gotten into the New York major.
No matter, as Zheng likely needed the practice of qualifying, as long as she didn't lose during the process. She is still rounding into her top form since returning to tennis earlier in 2026 because she hasn't made enough deep runs in tournaments to get into her top level.
Despite the rain, Zheng Qinwen overcomes Elena Pridankina in qualifying at the US Open
What was clear in her match with Pridankina was that the Chinese player will have lots of backing as long as she keeps playing in the US Open. Nearby Flushing Meadows has a large Chinese population, and the group turned out in droves to watch Zheng this week. They were fiercely behind her against the Russian.
In the opening set, Zheng made the match a bit more difficult than it should have been. She was striking the ball well, but had dips in form that allowed the outclassed Pridankina to stay around. After Zheng got a break to take a 4-2 lead in set one, the 20-year-old Russian was able to get back to 4-all after getting a break of her own.
The momentum didn't last long, however, as Zheng got another break coupled with a hold and took the opening set 6-4.
The rain had been a menace all morning, however, and had delayed the start of the match. After Pridankina held to begin set two, the rain began again and forced a suspension. The question was whether the pause would be enough to allow Pridankina to get back in the match after play resumed.
The answer was yes. The Russian roared back in set two, getting a break off Zheng in the fourth game, and then holding serve to take the set 6-3 and even the match. Before she could win the set, though, a second rain delay pushed the match into Friday with Pridankina leading 5-2.
Oddly, while she evened the match, she came back on Saturday in poorer form. She won the game she needed to force a third set, but once there, Zheng Qinwen's power became far too much for Elena Pridankina. The Chinese player was whipping the ball from both wings, forcing the Russian to move side to side in defense. In a matter of minutes, Zheng led set three 5-0.
Zheng was hitting nearly as many winners as unforced errors, but through the first five games of the final set, Pridankina had hit just one winner but seven unforced errors.
Zheng Qinwen took the third set 6-0 and is into the main draw of the US Open. As well as she played in the first and third sets of her final qualifying match, no one is going to want to face her to begin the major.
Add us as a preferred source on Google