With WTA Finals looming, Zheng relishing a return to normalcy in Tokyo

TOKYO — Whether it’s gracing the cover of fashion magazines or playing in raucous soldout stadiums in China, Zheng Qinwen spent the last four weeks flexing her star power on home soil. The 22-year-old Olympic champion’s popularity in China was front and center in her stellar runs through the China Open and Dongfeng Voyah · Wuhan Open, where Zheng got a very clear view of both sides of fame.

“Everywhere I go there must be security because people come up to me and asking for autographs,” Zheng told reporters ahead of this week’s Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis, “Which is a good thing because I’m more famous.

“But at the same time, you feel like you are always under people’s eyes.”

Tokyo: Scores | Draws | Order of play

Under those watchful eyes, Zheng made her first WTA 1000 semifinal at the China Open and then did one better a week later, making her first WTA 1000 final in her home tournament in Wuhan. She put in a gritty effort to take World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka to a third set in the final, but the mental and physical toll of her three-week effort was tough to shake off. She withdrew from the Ningbo Open a week later, but her hard work paid off with news she clinched the final qualifying spot for the WTA Finals Riyadh.

“After I lost at US Open, I just thought I will try my best to win the China Open and Wuhan Open,” Zheng said. “I just rested for a few days and I put all my attention back to the practice, back to my fitness.

“I worked really hard before China Open and it’s good that my hard work pays off.”

Hard work and singular focus have been the recipe for Zheng’s breakout season, which began with her first Grand Slam final at the Australian Open. That work ethic might explain why she is the only qualified WTA Finals singles player who is playing a tournament this week. She is the top seed in Tokyo, where she made the final in her debut two years ago.

“After Wuhan, my physical and mental was really tired,” Zheng said. “But after almost a week off I came back again and I’m feeling more fresh. Also my body, compared to Wuhan, is much better.

“I’m just going to try and perform like all my matches I did before and let’s see what’s going to happen this year in Tokyo. The WTA Finals are really close, but first of all, I’m trying to keep the body healthy and then, talking about tennis, let’s see how it goes here.”

Perhaps the biggest benefit Tokyo provides for Zheng is an opportunity to reset and just play.

“The reality is that I feel it’s good to be back as a normal person,” Zheng said. “Because when I was in China I was just at the hotel and the tennis court because once I step out there are people coming to ask for signatures and autographs. If it’s one or two it’s fine, but if they stop me it can be 50. That’s what happened to me when I came back from Cincinnati to China. I was stopped for 40 minutes just to sign autographs.

“I can have breakfast here alone. Three days in a row, breakfast alone, nobody cares about me. Nobody comes and asks for signatures. I just feel normal.”

Zheng opens her Tokyo campaign against British wild card Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima on Thursday.