Qinwen Zheng stuns Iga Swiatek from 0-5 down to reach US Open 2026 quarterfinals
Qinwen Zheng will face the winner of Naomi Osaka vs Elena Rybakina for a place in the semifinals. For Iga Swiatek, another New York exit before the last eight ends a summer that had started to turn after her Canadian Open title.
Qualifier Qinwen Zheng produced another seven-game surge on Arthur Ashe Stadium, rallying from 0-5 in the opening set to beat eighth seed Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-3 and reach the last eight at Flushing Meadows.
The 23-year-old Olympic champion needed one hour and 56 minutes to finish a rematch of their 2024 Paris Olympic semifinal. Swiatek, the 2022 US Open champion and a six-time major winner, is out before the quarterfinals in New York for a fourth straight year.
Iga Swiatek races to 5-0, then the collapse begins
Qinwen Zheng won the toss and chose to receive. For 20 minutes it looked like a mismatch. Iga Swiatek held serve, broke, and raced to 5-0 as Zheng sprayed forehands and dropped serve with a double fault.
Then the match flipped. Zheng broke back, held, and kept coming. Swiatek leaked two more double faults in the turnaround. Seven games later the set belonged to the qualifier, 7-5, the same seven-game burst she used two days earlier to come from 0-5 down against Madison Keys.
It was not luck stacked on luck. Zheng’s first-serve accuracy climbed, her forehand started to land heavy, and Swiatek’s intensity dropped once the lead vanished.
Qinwen Zheng takes over the second set
The second set never settled for the eighth seed. Iga Swiatek called for the physio with a thigh issue and took a medical timeout, then spent long stretches on the back foot. Qinwen Zheng held her serve more cleanly and kept pinning Swiatek behind the baseline.
Another break arrived. Zheng closed it 6-3. Ranked No. 121 after elbow surgery last year, the former world No. 4 is into her third US Open quarterfinal after runs in 2023 and 2024.
What comes next
Qinwen Zheng will face the winner of Naomi Osaka against second seed Elena Rybakina for a place in the semifinals. A deep run for Rybakina would also put the world No. 1 ranking in play.
For Iga Swiatek, another New York exit before the last eight ends a summer that had started to turn after her Canadian Open title. She had spoken after beating Marie Bouzkova about treating big points like any other point. On Monday she never got that far. Zheng simply refused to leave.
About the Author
Aachal Maniyar is a Senior Content Producer at LiveMint, where she covers US sports with a focus on major leagues, marquee events, and athlete-driven stories, while also reporting extensively on cricket and global sports. With over five years of first-hand journalism experience, she combines sharp editorial judgment with real-time sports storytelling across platforms. <br><br> Her reporting journey spans leading newsrooms including Thomson Reuters, India TV, BTVI, ET NOW, and CNBC TV18, where she has worked across breaking news, live match coverage, feature writing, interviews, video scripting, and anchoring. This multi-platform exposure has shaped her ability to deliver context-rich sports and business journalism tailored for both television and digital audiences. <br><br> Aachal has conducted and produced exclusive interviews with athletes and public figures such as India cricketer Dhruv Jurel, Indian women’s hockey captain Savita Punia, and industrialist Ratan Tata, along with several emerging and established sports personalities. Her body of work includes in-depth explainers, athlete profiles, emotionally resonant fan narratives, and data-backed match analysis across cricket, Olympic sports, and international competitions. <br><br> She holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune, and believes in reporting that is grounded in accuracy, clarity, and credibility. Her philosophy is simple: sports journalism should go beyond scores and statistics, capturing the human stories, pressure moments, and decisions that shape the game and the people who play it.
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