From elbow surgery to Beijing champion: Zheng Qinwen makes China Open history

Qinwen Zheng fell to the court in Beijing on Sunday, tears in her eyes, after beating Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-4 to win the China Open — her first WTA 1000 title, and the first ever won by a Chinese player. The 24-year-old Olympic champion entered on a wildcard, ranked 54th, after missing nearly six months with an elbow injury on her dominant right arm. She saved three set points in the opener, then sealed the match with an ace. “I’ve been through a very, very tough year,” she told the home crowd — before serenading them with a song about chasing “the light of dreams.”