WUHAN, China—As top seed and two-time champion Aryna Sabalenka addressed the crowd after reaching the Dongfeng Voyah Wuhan Open final, one of her comments turned heads in China and beyond.
After acknowledging her defeated opponent Coco Gauff, gushing about the tournament organization and saluting the crowd for their enthusiastic support, Sabalenka said with a grin: “Thank you Qinwen for winning the gold medal!”
It’s not often that a player gives her potential opponent that kind of shoutout ahead of a big match, but it’s been the prevailing sentiment all week long at the Wuhan event—which has secured its dream final as Sabalenka will meet No. 5 seed and national hero Zheng Qinwen on Sunday.
Read More: Birthday girl Zheng Qinwen basks in star-studded homecoming at Wuhan Open
Zheng, only the second Chinese player to reach the semifinals in Wuhan after Wang Qiang, had to fight past the third player to do so on her way to her first WTA 1000 final, defeating her countrywoman Wang Xinyu 6-3, 6-4.
“Now at the age of 22, being a finalist at the 1000 level, especially in Wuhan, this is a really big surprise. With this achievement, I’m really happy,” she told press on Saturday. “For the final tomorrow, I have a tough opponent. Everyone knows she’s really tough.”
