Qiang Wang caused one of the first big upsets of the 2020 Australian Open on Friday, defeating 23-time Grand Slam singles winner Serena Williams inside Rod Laver Arena.
The win propels Wang into the Round of 16, where she will play unseeded Tunisian Ons Jabeur for a place in the quarterfinals. Here's more on the 28-year-old from China.
The Qiang Wang File
Age: 28
Birthplace: Tianjin, China
Current Rank: 29
Career-High Rank: 12 (Sept. 9, 2019)
Best US Open Finish: Quarterfinals (2019)
The Baseline
- Wang's win over Williams, while certainly surprising, didn't exactly come out of nowhere. It was her seventh victory against a Top-10 player, following a 2019 win over Ashleigh Barty (US Open), 2018 victories over Venus Williams (French Open), Karolina Pliskova (Wuhan Open and China Open) and Elina Svitolina (Hong Kong Open), and a 2013 triumph over Caroline Wozniacki (Malaysian Open).
- No. 27 seed Wang moved into the fourth round of the Australian Open for the first time in her career. It marks the second time she has been to the second week of a major following her run to the final eight in Flushing Meadows last summer. The 28-year-old lost that quarterfinal match against Williams, 6-1, 6-0, in just 45 minutes, but she did not appear to be intimidated in their rematch Friday night in Melbourne.
- In 2018, Wang qualified for the year-end WTA Elite Trophy, where she was the No. 11 seed. After progressing through round-robin play, Wang defeated Garbiñe Muguruza in the semifinals, 6-2, 6-0, to make the championship match. In the final, Wang lost to Barty, 6-3, 6-4.
- Wang has won two WTA titles and contested two other finals, all in China in 2018. She won the Jiangxi Open against Saisai Zheng in July and dropped just three games against Yulia Putintseva to claim the Guangzhou Open trophy in September. Wang then reached the final of the Hong Kong Open in October, losing to Dayana Yastremska, before contesting the WTA Elite Trophy final in November.
- Wang represented China at the 2016 Rio Olympics, falling in the first round to No. 8 seed and former US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-1, 4-6, 6-0. Wang has also played 17 Fed Cup ties since debuting as a 20-year-old, compiling a 14-10 record, including 12-6 in singles, between 2012-16.
