Zhengzhou, China – On Monday, Chinese tennis sensation Qinwen Zheng celebrated her first tour-level victory on home soil by defeating Ukraine’s Kateryna Volodko with a scoreline of 6-4, 6-3 in the opening round of the Zhengzhou Open.
The 21-year-old Zheng delivered an impressive performance, registering 11 aces and losing just one point on her first serve (20 out of 21). She capitalized on 5 of her 12 break opportunities during the 1-hour and 24-minute match. In the next round, Zheng is set to face the third-seeded Maria Sakkari of Greece, setting the stage for an exciting clash.
The tournament featured only one seeded player in action on the day, as the 10th-seeded Donna Vekic from Croatia secured a straight-sets victory over Japan’s Nao Hibino. The final scoreline was 6-4, 6-2, and the match lasted 77 minutes. Other players progressing to the second round included Lucia Bronzetti and Jasmine Paolini of Italy, as well as Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina and Lesia Tsurenko.
In the Hana Bank Korea Open, which is part of the WTA 250 event, the third-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova faced Japan’s Mai Hontama in the opening round. Alexandrova put on a strong display, saving 9 out of 11 break points and emerging victorious with a score of 6-3, 6-1.
Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands, seeded seventh, also advanced to the next round after securing a comfortable victory over South Korea’s Na-Lae Han, with a final score of 6-1, 6-3. However, two seeded players faced early exits, with the sixth-seeded Alycia Parks falling to Polina Kudermetova of Russia (3-6, 6-1, 6-0) and the eighth-seeded Katie Boulter of Great Britain losing to Slovenia’s Kaja Juvan (6-4, 6-4).
The Round of 16 also welcomed Claire Liu, China’s Yue Yuan, Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer, and Liechtenstein’s Kathinka von Deichmann, as they secured their places in the next stage of the tournament.
