Resilient, tenacious, brave — whatever superlatives have been used to describe her remarkable year, they all seemed to pale at the moment Zheng Qinwen narrowly missed out on what would have been a perfect sign-off to her 2024 season.
As inconsolable as she looked when receiving the runner-up plate at the King Saud University Indoor Arena, Zheng has every reason to be proud of herself, having lived up to all the praise, regardless of the 6-3, 4-6, 6(2)-7 defeat to world No 3 Coco Gauff in the championship match of the WTA Finals on Saturday in Riyadh.
Coming so close to the coveted year-end trophy, as well as the most lucrative paycheck in women's tennis history, for sure will sting for a while, but the ambitious 22-year-old has already left the tennis world in no doubt that what has already been a fruitful 2024 campaign is just the beginning.
After all, it was only her third full season competing on the elite-level WTA Tour. Zheng collected four titles on the Tour, added an Olympic gold to her trophy cabinet on her Games debut this summer, before fighting into the championship match at the season finale in her first attempt.
Already so sharp and so bright, there's so much more to feel excited about, knowing that the young star is never satisfied, no matter how much progress she's made.
"I think the positive thing is that, whatever happens on court, I fight," Zheng said of arguably the closest defeat of her season.
"And I had a great season. It's my first time at the WTA Finals. And, you know, even though the final didn't go my way, I have still learned a lot.
"This is tennis. It's like you fight, but you are not always the one (to win). But, if you always keep going, and stay in that spot, you will get your chance, I think.
"Tennis-wise, of course, I always need to improve, but I will stay strong (from this loss), and let's see what happens next."
Even with Gauff walking away with the additional $2.5 million winner's bonus, Zheng's runner-up finish in the Saudi capital still delivered a not unsubstantial $2.3 million prize, the biggest she's ever received at a single tournament. It takes her season's earnings to $5.55 million, and career total to around $8.31 million.
More significantly, the 800 ranking points she's earned have propelled Zheng to a new career high of world No 5, closing in on the Chinese record set by retired two-time major winner Li Na, who, in January 2014, was world No 2.
Although she's not yet matching her childhood idol Li in the majors, Zheng's market value, thanks to tennis' surging popularity among the Chinese public, driven by Li's two Grand Slam wins (2011 French Open and 2014 Australian Open) and Zheng's Olympic gold, has been projected to surpass Li, or any other Chinese female athlete.
The rising star has braced herself for a busy off-season, with a packed schedule of endorsement events and advertising shoots for sponsors arranged by her agency IMG, the same promoter behind Li's commercial success over a decade ago.
It's a sweet obligation reserved for only the most sought-after women's sports icons.
"I still have lot of work to do for my sponsors," Zheng said during her post-match news conference. "And then, yeah, for the holiday, good question, I need to plan that when I get back to China, because I don't have too many days (off)."
With the new season and the next major in Melbourne fast approaching, Zheng, a finalist at the 2024 Aussie Open, has certainly built enough momentum and consistency over the freshly concluded season to set a higher goal for 2025.
Since her opening loss at Wimbledon, Zheng has racked up a 31-6 win-loss record, the most match-wins on Tour during that period, and collected a WTA250 title in Palermo, Italy, and a WTA500 title in Tokyo, before reaching her first WTA1000 final in Wuhan, capital of her home province Hubei.
By firing four aces in Saturday's three-hour-and-four-minute final, Zheng finished the season as the top-ranked ace server on the WTA Tour, with a whopping total of 445, far eclipsing the 360 of second-placed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan.
Already considered the most resilient fighter on the Tour, Zheng, who led all women in three-set wins (21 out of 26) this season, said she still has room to improve her mental game.
"The match today, it's just a couple of important points," said Zheng, who was so close to touching the winner's trophy when she served 5-4 for the match in the decider.
▲ Winner Coco Gauff (left) and runner-up Zheng Qinwen pose with their WTA Finals trophies on Saturday. AP
"Nothing more to say. The match was very close, and then, you know, at the end, when you play this type of match, it's not about the tennis, it's just about choices.
"When you lose a match, there are lessons you have to learn. So, I would say there are a lot of positive things here. For sure, it hurts to lose this match, but we will see. Maybe next time, I will be better."
Former US Open champion Gauff, who's now beaten Zheng in both of their encounters, is sure that they will meet in many more finals.
"I knew that it was going to be a tough match playing Qinwen. Every time we play, it's tough. She's a great competitor, a great tennis player," said the 20-year-old.
Reporter: Sun Xiaochen
