Zheng Qinwen unveils new team, physique changes significantly to deal with Sabalenka, fans: as strong as a double-door refrigerator
Beijing time on January 1, 2025, the latest news from China's No. 1 tennis player has arrived.
Zheng Qinwen, who missed the United Cup, has arrived in Melbourne, Australia and is fully committed to preparing for the upcoming Australian Open, with her new team also making its debut. From the photos, it can be seen that there are a total of 4 team members, not including Zheng Qinwen herself.
Standing to the left of Zheng Qinwen, the burly man about 1.85 meters tall is the interim coach Dante Bottini. Due to the recurrence of an old injury in Zheng Qinwen's coach Perry Riba, who underwent hip surgery and was unable to coach at the Australian Open, Zheng Qinwen chose to collaborate with Argentine coach Bottini. I'm really curious to see how Zheng Qinwen will perform under the guidance of the new coach.
To the right of Zheng Qinwen is the petite beauty physiotherapist Shadi, who has been accompanying Zheng Qinwen for a long time. On the left of Bottini is the sunny and handsome young physical trainer Zhou Jiang, while on the right of Shadi is the new sparring partner Francisco Rocha, currently ranked 773rd in the world.
Zheng Qinwen also took a special photo with physiotherapist Shadi, who earns $400 a day. In the photo, she is smiling like a flower, appearing delicate and dependent next to Zheng Qinwen, who stands at 1.78 meters tall.
This time, when Zheng Qinwen shared her photos, the most direct feeling everyone had was that she had become much stronger, even developing a small belly. A Beijing fan exclaimed, "You Wen has turned into a double-door refrigerator!" Other fans also agreed that Zheng Qinwen had indeed become more robust. Obviously, after more than a month of winter training, Zheng Qinwen deliberately increased muscle mass, mainly to enhance strength.
Why is this? Could it be to deal with Sabalenka? Last year at the Australian Open, Zheng Qinwen finished as the runner-up, losing to Sabalenka in the final. To date, they have faced each other five times, with Zheng Qinwen yet to secure a victory. Sabalenka is undoubtedly a formidable obstacle that Zheng Qinwen needs to overcome, and it seems that Zheng Qinwen has come up with a strategy, with increasing muscle mass and becoming stronger possibly being one of them. After all, without a strong physique and power, it would be like a chick facing an eagle when competing against Sabalenka.
In order to have more time to prepare for the Australian Open, Zheng Qinwen specially gave up the United Cup this time, with a clear goal of starting the 2025 season well and striving to win the Australian Open championship. A direct confrontation with the championship favorite Sabalenka is likely inevitable. What kind of results will Zheng Qinwen achieve at the Australian Open? Everyone might as well make their predictions.