Zheng Qinwen beats Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-3 after trailing 5-0 to reach US Open quarterfinals

Erasing consecutive 5-0 deficits

Zheng Qinwen overcame a 5-0 opening-set deficit to defeat eighth seed Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-3 in the fourth round of the US Open on Monday. The victory came two days after Zheng erased an identical 5-0 deficit in the third set against 22nd seed Madison Keys, winning 1-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5. Against Swiatek, Zheng conceded the first five games in 20 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium before capturing seven consecutive games. Swiatek failed to convert two set points while serving at 5-1 and could not convert a third set point at 5-3 as Zheng found her rhythm from the baseline.

Zheng commented on her consecutive deficit recoveries during her on-court interview following the match.

I guess to come back 0-5 yesterday is not lucky, that's all I can say.

Second set breakdown and medical timeout

Zheng carried her momentum into the second set, breaking Swiatek twice to secure the win in straight sets. Swiatek took a medical timeout after the third game of the set while leading 2-1, receiving treatment and massage from a physiotherapist on her left thigh. Zheng broke Swiatek's serve in the seventh game with a backhand winner down the line to take a 4-3 lead. The Chinese player converted her fourth match point in the ninth game, leaving the 2022 tournament winner in tears upon leaving the court.

Swiatek addressed her unforced errors during her post-match press conference.

I wouldn't say it had anything to do with mentality. It was more that I started making mistakes from easy balls and Qinwen stopped doing mistakes.

Recovery from surgery and qualification run

Zheng, the 2024 Olympic champion, arrived in New York ranked 121st in the world after reaching a career-high ranking of fourth in June 2025. A chronic right elbow injury required surgery in July 2025 and sidelined her until February. She suffered opening-round defeats at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon before entering the qualifying tournament in Flushing Meadows. In New York, Zheng won three qualifying matches to reach the main draw, becoming the first qualifier to reach the US Open women's quarterfinals since Emma Raducanu in 2021. She is coached by Pere Riba, who guided Coco Gauff to the 2023 US Open title. The victory over Swiatek was Zheng's second win in nine career matches against the Polish player, following her win in the 2024 Olympic semifinals.

Swiatek ends season without a Grand Slam title

The fourth-round exit ended Swiatek's 2026 Grand Slam season without a major tournament win, marking her first year without one since 2021. Swiatek, who won her first title of 2026 in August at the WTA 1000 tournament in Toronto, reached the Australian Open quarterfinals in January before suffering earlier exits at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Zheng advances to the quarterfinals to play either second seed Elena Rybakina or 13th seed Naomi Osaka. In other fourth-round action on Monday, Russian fifth seed Mirra Andreeva reached her first career US Open quarterfinal by defeating Anastasia Potapova 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 after Potapova suffered an injury in the final game.