On May 15th Beijing time, in the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 Rome Open, Chinese tennis star Zheng Qinwen stunned the world by defeating World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka 2-0, advancing to her first-ever semifinal at this tournament. This was their seventh encounter—and Zheng's first victory over her long-time nemesis. 

Sabalenka, currently ranked No.1 in the WTA singles rankings, had just won the Madrid Open and had long been Zheng's toughest opponent. Before this match, the two had played six times, all of which Zheng lost, managing to win only a single set across all meetings with a combined set score of 1-12. 

Their previous match history:

2023 US Open Quarterfinals: 0-2

2024 Australian Open Final: 0-2

2024 US Open Quarterfinals: 0-2

2024 Wuhan Open Final: 1-2

2024 WTA Finals: 0-2

2025 Miami Open Quarterfinals: 0-2

This was their first clash on clay, and Zheng had anticipated the challenge:
"Sabalenka is a pure offensive player. She does give you some opportunities, but I want to maintain my consistency and look for chances to attack. I was really looking forward to facing her on clay for the first time. Each surface requires a different strategy, and I wanted to see where I stand against her on this one."

Sabalenka took a lighter tone, joking, "I didn’t eat my favorite pasta today, so I guess that’s why I didn’t play well. Hopefully tomorrow’s pasta can help me through Wednesday’s match."

In the first set, both players held serve in the first four games. Zheng broke Sabalenka to go up 3-2 and then consolidated her break with a solid hold. At 5-3, Zheng delivered a love game and, in the tenth game, shocked the World No.1 with a second-serve ace to clinch the set 6-4—her second-ever set win against Sabalenka.

Zheng continued her momentum into the second set, breaking serve in the first game and quickly holding for a 2-0 lead. Although she missed four break points in the seventh game, allowing Sabalenka to hold, Zheng remained composed. She held serve in the eighth and broke again in the ninth to seal a 2-0 victory.

This victory marks a major milestone for Zheng, breaking her six-match losing streak against Sabalenka and ending the Belarusian’s 9-match winning streak across all tournaments, as well as her 15-match winning streak at WTA 1000 events.

It’s worth noting that Zheng also scored her first win over a then-World No.1 Swiatek last year on clay during the Paris Olympics—highlighting her growing strength on the surface.

Zheng once said, "If you want to be the best player, you have to climb the mountains in front of you. For me, Sabalenka was one of those mountains."
And now, she has conquered it.

With this win, Zheng not only reached the Rome semifinals for the first time, but also earned 390 ranking points and a prize of €240,380 (approximately 1.73 million RMB).

In the semifinals, she will face American star Coco Gauff, who just reclaimed the World No.2 ranking. Zheng has yet to win against Gauff in their two previous meetings, but now she has another chance to change that history.