The first Grand Slam tennis tournament of 2025, the Australian Open, is about to begin. On January 4th, the Australian Open released a promotional video featuring Zheng Qinwen. The Chinese "Golden Flower" expressed her great anticipation for the 2025 season, stating that she will give her all and strive to play her best tennis, saying "See you at the 2025 Australian Open!"
Over the past year, Zheng Qinwen has made significant strides in her career, achieving several personal and national milestones in Chinese tennis. It all began with the 2024 Australian Open. This year, Zheng Qinwen has chosen to start the new season with the 2025 Australian Open.
To prepare for this year's Australian Open, Zheng Qinwen previously withdrew from the 2025 United Cup to gain more time for rest, recovery, and training for the new season. It is evident that she is highly enthusiastic about this year's Australian Open.
On January 4th, the Australian Open released Zheng Qinwen's personal promotional video. In the video, Zheng Qinwen said that participating in a Grand Slam final for the first time at the Australian Open is of great significance, as it signifies that all her efforts have finally paid off. "This begins to change my way of thinking; I play more aggressively, and then I just need to stay calm and focused. I almost won a Grand Slam, but my dreams go beyond that; this is just the beginning, and there are still many areas where I need to improve," she said.
Compared to a year ago, Zheng Qinwen not only holds the title of Grand Slam singles runner-up but is also an Olympic gold medalist and a top-five player in the world, possessing remarkable market value. The Australian Open also places great importance on Zheng Qinwen this year.
A month ago, the Australian Open announced that it would hold the grandest opening week in history before the official start of the event. Among the charity matches, Zheng Qinwen was invited to participate alongside Novak Djokovic, a 10-time Australian Open men's singles champion, world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz, and Australian players Alex de Minaur, Jordan Thompson, and other tennis stars.
On January 4th, Zheng Qinwen also participated in the countdown ceremony for the Australian Open with Craig Tiley, the tournament director. Subsequently, Craig Tiley shared a photo of Zheng Qinwen with the Australian Open women's singles championship trophy on his personal social media.
The Australian Open recently listed several reasons why Zheng Qinwen is beloved. These include "her serve and forehand are powerful weapons that help her open up the court," "give Zheng Qinwen a microphone, and she can conquer the audience," "from Li Na to Zheng Qinwen, the passing of the torch in Chinese women's tennis," "always craving victory," and "extraordinary appeal both on and off the court."
It can be said that even before the 2025 Australian Open begins, Zheng Qinwen's presence is already fully established.
At this year's Australian Open, Zheng Qinwen will compete in the women's singles as the No. 5 seed. In the training video released by the Australian Open, we can see that after winter training, Zheng Qinwen's physique has become more robust, with clearer leg muscle lines, indicating that she is in excellent condition.
At the beginning of the new season, Zheng Qinwen faces some challenges: how well she can gel with her new coach; whether she can quickly find her form after not playing any official matches this season and "parachuting" into the Australian Open; and how she handles the pressure of maintaining her ranking points...
However, it should be noted that over the past year, Zheng Qinwen has demonstrated significant improvements in both her skills and mentality, and it is believed that she can handle the challenges of the new journey.
In the new season, "Queen Wen" is worth looking forward to.