Wim Fissette liked what he saw.
Here before him was an uber-athletic, 5-foot-10 ball-striker with an explosive ground game, an unyielding work ethic and, perhaps most notably, ample room for improvement.
“I watched some matches last year. I was kind of impressed by her, the athlete she is,” said the longtime tennis coach, who has worked with everyone from Victoria Azarenka to Naomi Osaka, who he mentored during the Japanese American’s run to her second US Open title in 2020. “Lots of possibilities, but also still pretty raw. It’s like a really interesting project where you can really build the player.”
The player in question was Zheng Qinwen, dubbed "Queenwen" by her fast-expanding fanbase, already a camera-ready darling in the pages of GQ China, Harper’s Bazaar China and Racquet, but still very much an unfinished product on the tennis court. Fissette had found his next charge. He joined her team this past June.
Zheng’s heritage and easy power make for convenient comparisons to Osaka, though, in truth, her game is more nuanced. She can generate a ton of spin from both the forehand and backhand side, and therefore takes a different tactical approach into her matches than the four-time major champion.
With that approach has come some growing pains, but Fissette is encouraged by the steady improvement.
In July, Zheng captured her maiden WTA title on clay in Palermo. Coming into the 2023 US Open, the 20-year-old all-courter had posted three Top 10 wins (Ons Jabeur, Paula Badosa and Daria Kasatkina). The world No. 23 would add a fourth in Flushing Meadows, scalping Jabeur again, 6-2, 6-4, to reach the quarterfinals, a career-best showing at the majors.
Her 6-1, 6-4 loss to soon-to-be No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka on Wednesday in Arthur Ashe Stadium shows that there’s still some work to be done. Just don’t expect Zheng to shy away from the task.
“I will take some days off and try to refresh myself and put in the work again,” said Zheng, who was hoping to match China’s best US Open result by reaching the semifinals, a feat last accomplished by Peng Shuai in 2014. “The result, it’s not bad for me, but, honestly, in my mind, I really wanted to go farther. There is still a lot of room for me to improve. I have to go back and put some work in on my tennis.”
If, at times, she looked over-aggressive on the grass this summer, on the hard courts she might just be too passive: “As a young player, you’re looking for that ideal balance,” Fissette said.
“For her, I think choice-making is still a very interesting topic. I feel like on the clay, she really has found her game, but on the hard, she’s looking to understand who she really is and to use her strokes the best possible way with the right strategy.”
