US Open: Zheng Stuns Swiatek After Another 5-0 Comeback

China’s Qinwen Zheng produced another extraordinary comeback at the 2026 US Open, recovering from 5-0 down to defeat former champion Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-3 and reach the quarter-finals.

Zheng appeared to be heading toward a difficult afternoon on Arthur Ashe Stadium after Swiatek dominated the opening stages. The eighth-seeded Pole raced to a 5-0 lead in just 23 minutes, controlling rallies and forcing Zheng into defensive positions.

However, Zheng gradually found her rhythm and began turning the match around. She won seven consecutive games to take the first set 7-5, completing another remarkable recovery after mounting an almost identical comeback against Madison Keys two days earlier.

Against Keys, Zheng had trailed 5-0 in the deciding set and saved a match point before winning the final seven games to prevail 1-6, 7-6(3), 7-5.

Her latest comeback was equally impressive. Swiatek had opportunities to close out the first set but could not convert them, while Zheng remained composed and increasingly aggressive.

The Chinese star carried that momentum into the second set, breaking away from Swiatek at crucial moments before closing out a 7-5, 6-3 victory.

The result marked only Zheng’s second victory over Swiatek and improved their current head-to-head record to 2-2. Her previous victory came in the semi-finals of the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she went on to win the gold medal.

For Swiatek, the defeat ended her US Open campaign despite arriving as one of the tournament’s leading contenders. The six-time Grand Slam champion struggled with consistency and committed 28 unforced errors during the match.

Zheng’s run is particularly remarkable because she entered the tournament through qualifying after missing last year’s US Open because of an elbow injury. She had also fallen outside the world’s top 100 before beginning her New York campaign.

The victory makes Zheng the first qualifier to reach the US Open women’s singles quarter-finals since Emma Raducanu won the title in 2021. It is also her third appearance in the tournament’s last eight.

Zheng will face second seed Elena Rybakina in the quarter-finals after the Kazakh defeated Naomi Osaka in straight sets.