Zheng Qinwen's debut in the new season went wild as she played with ease and showed significant improvement, winning both sets 6-2 against Svitolina in an Australian Open charity exhibition match. This impressive performance demonstrated her excellent form, indicating that she is not intimidated by top contenders like Sabalenka and Gauff, giving her a real chance at the Australian Open title.
Last year, Zheng Qinwen had a busy season, starting from the Australian Open to the year-end finals, with a reduced winter training period. To prepare well for the 2025 season, she chose to temporarily withdraw from the United Cup and directly made the Australian Open her first event. As the main draw of the Australian Open is set to open on January 12, this charity exhibition match became Zheng Qinwen's debut.
In this match, Zheng Qinwen faced Svitolina from Ukraine, who is currently ranked 29th in the world and has reached as high as third, having won the year-end finals championship. The two had no previous encounters.
In the first set, Svitolina served first but posed little threat, allowing Zheng Qinwen to easily return serves. After a 40-40 tie, Zheng Qinwen scored two consecutive points to break serve. In the second game, she hit an ace, earning applause from the audience and marking the start of her dominant play, leaving Svitolina with little resistance.
In the third and fourth games, Zheng Qinwen continued to break and hold serve, taking a 4-0 lead and gradually turning the match into a one-sided affair. Since it was just an exhibition match, Zheng Qinwen did not want to make the score too lopsided and gave Svitolina some face. Therefore, in the fifth and sixth games, she intentionally held back, allowing Svitolina to break and hold serve, narrowing the score to 2-5.
In the seventh game, which was Zheng Qinwen's victory-serving game, she only needed to hold serve to win the set. She seized the opportunity and did not waste it. As Svitolina's return went out of bounds, Zheng Qinwen won the set 6-2 with ease, completing it in just 37 minutes.
In the second set, Zheng Qinwen maintained her fiery form, leading 3-0 at the start, and the match gradually lost its suspense. She ultimately won the set 6-2 again, defeating Svitolina with ease.