Zheng delivers a WTA Finals masterclass, cruises into Riyadh semifinals

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Already up a break on Jasmine Paolini and serving at 2-1, Zheng Qinwen boomed back-to-back aces to close out the game. Fresh off another break at 4-1, she hit two more serves that weren’t returned -- followed by another pair of aces.

For those of you not counting at home, that was six swings at the ball, none of them returned. It was a revealing snapshot of the elevated place the 22-year-old Chinese player’s game finds itself these days.

The final score at the WTA Finals Riyadh presented by PIF was 6-1, 6-1, and it was over in 67 minutes.

“She started to serve better and better and it’s tough to read her serve,” Paolini said later. “I think it’s not easy.

WTA Finals Riyadh: Scores | Schedule | Standings

“Now it’s tough to forget this match because I was so nervous. Couldn’t find a solution to play against her. It was a tough day. But there are some positive matches as well. But today it’s a very negative one.”

And so, the No.7-seeded Zheng sweeps into Friday’s semifinals after taking this winner-take-all match. She’s now beaten Paolini all four times they’ve played and will next meet an opponent to be named later.

“I finally feel that my serve begin to be a bit more consistent,” Zheng told reporters. “I remember in 2022 my serve also was quite strong. I don’t know why suddenly in 2023 my serve started to drop. In this tournament and the rest of this half year is the first time I’ve felt like the serve start to be back.”

This was a virtuoso display by Zheng. She smashed 12 aces and scored five breaks of serve. Her footwork was flawless, and she even threw in an elegant sprinting drop shot that caused the substantial crowd to gasp.

Zheng is the youngest player to make the semifinals at the WTA Finals in her first appearance since Petra Kvitova in 2011. It’s her seventh semifinal of the year and the first time she’s ever beaten two Top 10 players in the same tournament.

Since the conclusion of this year’s Wimbledon, Zheng has won 30 matches -- four more than the next-closest player, World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka -- and lost only five. In that span she’s won the Olympic gold medal in singles, titles in Palermo and Tokyo, as well as a quarterfinal berth at the US Open, a semifinal in Beijing and a final in Wuhan.

Zheng could become the second player to win the singles gold medal and reach the WTA Finals championship match in the same season since tennis returned to the Olympics in 1988, after Serena Williams in 2012.

Historically, the year-end tournament can be unpredictable, but here in Riyadh three hottest players coming in -- Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Zheng -- were the first three to win two group matches.

For Paolini, it’s the end of a terrific season in singles. She finishes 38-19 and can look back fondly at major finals at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon. She’s still alive in doubles with partner Sara Errani.

Zheng’s opponent will be determined on Thursday when the Orange Group plays its final matches. If the higher seeds in those two group matches Thursday prevail, Zheng would get No.3 Gauff in the semifinals. Asked if she would watch the matches, Zheng said she would delegate that task to her coach, Pere Riba.

“Finally, I showed off some tennis I really want to play,” Zheng said. “Of course, when you enter to the match you are nervous but at the same time you feel confidence because you know your level. And I know how capable I am.”