Zheng Qinwen has confirmed what many suspected as she is set to miss the entire North American hard-court swing after withdrawing from the US Open.
Over this past weekend, Zheng announced she underwent a successful surgery on her elbow. While the Chinese didn’t put a timetable on her return, it was instantly clear that she wouldn’t play during the summer on hard courts. And by withdrawing from Washington, Montreal, Cincinnati and the US Open, she confirmed that was true.
So far in her career, Zheng has made three US Open appearances. In her debut, the world No. 6 exited the 2022 US Open in the third round while she made back-to-back quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows in 2023 and 2024.
When could Zheng return?
In a message posted on her Instagram account on Saturday, the 2024 Paris Olympics revealed that she had been battling an elbow issue for quite some time before deciding to surgically address it. Also, the former world No. 4 didn’t shut down her 2025 since she called her surgery “just a short break.”
“Over the past months, I’ve been dealing with persistent pain in my right elbow during training and matches. Despite trying various treatments to manage it, the discomfort never fully went away. After consulting with elbow specialists and discussing thoroughly with my team, we decided that arthroscopic surgery was the best option to fully resolve the issue,” Zheng announced on Saturday.
“Now begins the recovery journey. Over the next few weeks and months, I’ll be focusing entirely on rehab-doing everything I can to come back stronger and healthier. This is just a short break, and I see it as a necessary step toward a better version of myself on court.”
Considering that Zheng didn’t call it a season instantly, there is a good chance that she still hopes to be able to play during the Asian swing, which starts in late September.