(Paris) China or Croatia will win their first gold medal in singles at the Olympic tennis tournament on Saturday, in the women’s final between Zheng Qinwen and Donna Vekic on the clay courts of Roland-Garros.
It will be the biggest career title for the player who triumphs: Zheng and Vekic have never won a major title.
“I always wanted to bring a medal to China, to my country, and now I’m in a position to do it,” Zheng said after knocking out Poland’s Iga Swiatek in the semifinals on Thursday. “I know the tournament is not over; there’s still one more match.”
The loss snapped Swiatek’s winning streak at Roland Garros, which hosts the French Open each year and is the venue for the Paris Olympics, to 25. Four of the world No. 1’s five Grand Slam titles have come on Parisian clay.
Vekic, meanwhile, has also ousted Grand Slam champions en route to the Olympic podium. She beat 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu of Ontario in the second round and reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff of the United States in the next round.
PHOTO MANU FERNANDEZ, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Donna Vekic shed a few tears after beating Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.
“This has been my goal since I started playing tennis. This is my main goal this year,” Vekic said after beating Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the semifinals. “I’m speechless, knowing that I’m going to get a medal.”
Zheng is a 21-year-old ranked seventh in the world and a finalist at the Australian Open in January. She plays aggressively, which means she sometimes makes a lot of mistakes, but she also showed great patience en route to victory over Swiatek.
I feel like if you asked me right now to fight for my country for three more hours, I would do it. I will give everything I have in the final.
Zheng Qinwen
She is 29-12 so far this season with one WTA title, which came on clay in Italy a month ago. She has three career titles on the women’s tour, and has already held a world ranking of sixth.
PHOTO DIMITAR DILKOFF, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Zheng Qinwen fell to the ground after her win over Iga Swiatek on Thursday.
For her part, Vekic is a 28-year-old Croatian who is ranked 21e world level. Her best Grand Slam result was a four-way appearance at Wimbledon last month, where she lost to eventual finalist Jasmine Paolini of Italy.
She has a 27-15 record so far this season, and has not won a title in 2024. The Croatian has won four in her career, and has climbed to 19e world rank.
Zheng and Vekic have met twice before, and they shared the series. Vekic won in straight sets in 2021 at an indoor tournament in Italy, while Zheng triumphed in three sets at a tournament in China in 2023.
“When I realized that Iga had lost [jeudi]I said, ‘Oh, I have to win my match, because it would have been difficult tomorrow.’ Qinwen is playing good tennis right now,” Vekic said. “It’s going to be a tough match.”
Iga Swiatek consoles herself with the bronze medal
PHOTO VIOLETA SANTOS MOURA, REUTERS
Iga Swiatek
Poland’s Iga Swiatek, who was the big favourite, consoled herself for her defeat in the semi-final the day before by winning the bronze medal on Friday at Roland Garros at the expense of Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (67).e world) 6-2, 6-1.
Victorious four times in the French internationals (2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024), the world number one conceded her first defeat in more than three years on the Parisian clay on Thursday, against the Chinese Zheng Qinwen.
Deeply affected, Swiatek was able to remobilise herself to go for bronze and extend the beautiful family story with the Olympic Games, in which her father Tomasz had participated in rowing in Seoul in 1988.