China’s Zheng Qinwen holds a Chinese flag after defeating Croatia’s Donna Vekic during the Women’s Singles tennis final at the Roland Garros stadium at the Paris Olympics 2024, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Zheng Qinwen paid an emotional tribute to her parents on Saturday for allowing her “to focus on her dream” of becoming an Olympic champion.
The 21-year-old became China’s first tennis singles gold medallist with a confident 6-2, 6-3 win over Croatia’s Donna Vekic in the Paris Olympics.
Zheng said her father’s tough love had been key to her history-making moment at Roland Garros.
“He pushed me hard. Even on Chinese New Year there was no rest. He’d take me to the track, he’d make me run up and down stairs to make my body work,” she recalled.
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“I got two or three days’ rest when I was 14 or 15. My success comes a lot from my parents. They allowed me to stay focused on my dream.”
She added: “They always believed in me. They weren’t like other parents who said ‘you can’t do that’. When I was nine or 10, they told me I would win a Slam and be a champion.
“So thanks mum and dad. I couldn’t have done it without you. I love you.”
Zheng triumphed on the same Court Philippe Chatrier where compatriot Li Na won the 2011 French Open to become China’s first Grand Slam singles champion.
Li would also capture the 2014 Australian Open and become world number one.
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However, Li’s best Olympics performance was a fourth place at the Beijing Olympics of 2008.
“Since I was a child Li was a great inspiration. I want to inspire children, especially girls to play tennis. It’s a great sport because it shows you need to fight, how to be strong, be fast,” said Zheng.
Her success on Saturday came after a rollercoaster week in Paris where she saved a match point in her third-round win over Emma Navarro and was blasted by the American for possessing a “cut-throat” attitude.
‘Hey, I made history’
China’s Zheng Qinwen kisses her gold medal after defeating Croatia’s Donna Vekic in the Women’s Singles tennis final at the Roland Garros stadium at the Paris Olympics 2024, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
In the semi-finals she defeated world number one Iga Swiatek for the first time in seven meetings, ending the four-time French Open champion’s 25-match win streak at Roland Garros.
Zheng now hopes to be able to approach her sport in a more “relaxed” manner to allow her to throw off the shackles which have constrained her since making the Australian Open final in January.
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At the French Open she slipped to a third-round defeat to 70th-ranked Elina Avanesyan before her Grand Slam hopes hit rock bottom with a first-round exit at Wimbledon to New Zealand’s world number 123 Lulu Sun.
“I always want to be better and after this gold medal I feel finally I can play tennis more relaxed and have fun on the court.”
That will also be music to the ears of her demanding father who, she says, has always treated the Olympics bigger than the Slams.
“So if I lose, I can say to him ‘hey, I made history at the Olympics’.”
Vekic, meanwhile, revealed she had been close to withdrawing from the Olympics after picking up an injury during her run to the Wimbledon semi-final last month.
“I had so much pain everywhere that I was debating going to the Olympics because I thought in these conditions, I can’t win a medal,” said the 28-year-old, who defeated world number two Coco Gauff on her way to Saturday’s gold medal match.
“I had pain in my arm, pain in my ankle, I was sick. Everything was happening all at once. When we came here, first our flight was cancelled, we arrived late, so everything was going wrong.
“When we had our first practice, I told my coach I was coughing so bad I couldn’t hit two shots in a row. I was like ‘What are we doing here?’.
“I told him this yesterday, I was like ‘Jesus, one week later we have a medal’.”