US OPEN

August 23, 2024

Zheng Qinwen

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome. You have had a very successful season leading into the Open. Your thoughts on the US Open for yourself as we get ready to play the tournament.

ZHENG QINWEN: The thought of US Open is just trying to perform as the best as I can every match. There is not many things I have to say, because when I realize if I just focus match by match, that's the best I can do. Yeah, I can't think too far.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. After winning gold in Paris, a lot of players have struggled to transition to the hard courts this summer. How have you dealt with the transition?

ZHENG QINWEN: I mean, I don't think I have too much problem transition clay to hard. I just think maybe the time is not enough, and especially I was feeling really sick after when I arrived in Cincinnati. I was, like, maybe four days without practicing and two days with fever.

So of course if you don't practice, the performance can't be well. I mean, if you really put hours on court, I think the transition will be fine. Yeah.

Q. You have obviously had a very successful season. I'm sure a lot of commercial opportunities have presented themselves. How do you balance tennis and sponsorship opportunities, those two things? Have there been any major changes to your sponsors over the past year?

ZHENG QINWEN: Yeah, I think if you want to balance the time and the team has to work well, especially I think the manager has to communicate good with the head coach, because of course commercial is important, but at the end we are tennis player to perform as well on court. This our priority.

You need to block some time for the commercial things. I think I will do it in China, because that's going to be much easier for me instead of to do outside of China, yeah.

Q. You spoke about being inspired by a very young Chinese hurdler and watching the tapes. Could you share with us a little bit more about that and what was involved with that and how you got inspired?

ZHENG QINWEN: I mean, I inspired from who?

Q. Was there a 21-year-old hurdler?

ZHENG QINWEN: Yes, okay. I remember. His name is Liu Xiang, and in 2004 he won the first gold medal for China. He also broke the record of the Asia athlete.

During the time I was in Olympic Games, I was watching his video. I got so much inspired because they put the music and the moment when he won, and champion, because he's yellow-skinned, and you know it's tough to beat the dark people in this sport, because they are just genetic really well in the explosive sport.

I think in that moment, I think if he can do it at 21 years old and this year I'm also 21 years old, why not me? And every day I have been watching the video at least five times to get inspired (smiling). Maybe that's why I have so much energy on court, yeah.

Q. Will you reach out and try and contact him at some point and thank him?

ZHENG QINWEN: I mean, if one day I have a chance in China, I would like to have some conversation with him, because I think his journey is not easy, and I would like ask him lot of questions to get, you know, more experience, and I would like to ask him how you deal with all those pressure in that moment, because everybody knows him in China. Everybody. Yeah.

Q. Are you also thinking about commercial opportunities in the United States and becoming a marketable athlete in the United States, or is your focus really just sort of on China?

ZHENG QINWEN: I don't know. Because I thought the U.S. commercial, maybe they just support U.S. players. I mean, if I had a chance to work with U.S. commercial, I mean, at the end, my priority goes, is always performance well in tennis, but, I mean, if the opportunity come, I will trying to get, there is no specific, say, which commercial it is, because, you know, I just wants to be simple. If I have to do the commercial, I will do it, because it's part of job.

But where my passion is and where I want to put all my energy is on the tennis court.

Q. I know you work very hard and you've put in a lot of years, but to what do you attribute this year's breakthroughs at the Australian and the Olympics?

ZHENG QINWEN: Well, I always say that, you know, after Australian Open, of course it's a really good result for me, but I had a lot of ups and downs after Australia, because I say I lost some motivations, I'm different in the practice. And after I won Olympic gold medals, the first thing I told to myself is I want to keep the motivation on. I don't want to let myself slip again. I really want to improve one more time in my mental side. It's mean how to maintain the level when you are become a champion and just to keep winning, winning, winning, instead of getting relaxed and let yourself lose easy match.

If I'm able to do that, I think I will really break through some wall that I have for myself. I'm just trying to work really hard on my mental side. I wish this time I can perform as well, yeah. That's all I can say.

Q. In Paris, after winning your gold, you spoke a lot about your parents, their importance to you. Have you had a chance to see them since winning that gold? If so, what was that like? What was their message to you?

ZHENG QINWEN: I'm surprised, actually, because after Cincinnati, I have to go back to China for be without the athlete, meet the president, so actually I saw my parents in that moment.

They are so happy to see me. One of the surprises, my father is just standing outside of the airplane. You know, there is a track, so they are able to come there and give me the flowers in that moment.

Yeah, is very short. You know, I think less than 48 hours. But I feel peace when I'm with them, and I feel my father start to put me some new target again, which is I have already for myself. It was, yeah, a warm family time, yeah.