Qinwen Zheng Beats Donna Vekić to Win Gold Medal in Olympic Women's Tennis Bracket
China's Qinwen Zheng defeated Croatia's Donna Vekić in straight sets Saturday to earn a gold medal in women's tennis singles at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Zheng, the No. 6 seed, beat No. 13 seed Vekić 6-2, 6-3 to become the first Chinese player to win Olympic gold in singles tennis.
Zheng's victory followed a stunning Olympic run that saw her save a match point against Emma Navarro and complete a semifinal upset No. 1-ranked Iga Swiatek, during which she snapped Swiatek's 20-match win streak on clay.
Zheng opened the final by dominating the first set, winning despite several closely contested points as Vekić struggled with unforced errors.
During the second set, Vekic continued to struggle with errors as Zheng pulled out to a 2-0 lead.
Vekić begin to push back, eventually tying the set at 2-2.
The two fought to another tie before Zheng claimed the next two sets. She finished with a forehand drop shot to claim the win.
The gold medal is the first of Zheng's career, and caps off a season that saw her go to the finals of the Australian Open in January.
The victory marks just the second time in history Olympic gold has gone to a Chinese tennis player, following Li Ting and Sun Tiantian's doubles win at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Next up men's tennis stars Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz will face off for Olympic gold in the men's singles final Sunday following the women's doubles bronze doubles match.
