Zheng Qinwen turned a 0-5 deficit into a straight-sets win over Iga Swiatek on Monday, the second time in three matches she has fought back from that exact scoreline at the 2026 US Open.
The 23-year-old Chinese qualifier beat No. 8 seed Swiatek 7-5, 6-3 in the round of 16 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, sending her into the quarterfinals.
Swiatek raced to a 5-0 lead in the opening set and appeared close to taking control of the match. Zheng had struggled early, with errors allowing the former US Open champion to build a commanding advantage.
From there, the match changed completely.
Zheng won the next seven games in a row to take the opening set 7-5. She sharply reduced her mistakes while Swiatek struggled to regain the control she had shown early in the match.
Swiatek took the opening game of the second set, but Zheng responded quickly and went on to close out the match 6-3.
A pattern that started against Keys
This was not Zheng’s first dramatic recovery of the tournament.
Two days earlier, in the third round, she produced an even more remarkable comeback against No. 22 seed Madison Keys.
Zheng lost the first set 6-1 before winning a tight second-set tiebreak 7-6(3) to force a deciding set. Keys then surged to a 5-0 lead in the third set and reached match point.
Zheng saved it.
She then won seven consecutive games to complete a 1-6, 7-6(3), 7-5 victory, advancing to the fourth round despite being just one point away from elimination.
After that match, Zheng described the turnaround as a rare moment in her career, saying it was the first time she had come back from such a deficit.
Only two days later, she did it again.
Against Swiatek, the 0-5 deficit came in the opening set rather than the deciding set, but the turnaround followed the same striking pattern: Zheng won seven consecutive games to transform a seemingly lost set into a 7-5 victory.
Where the run leaves her
The victory over Swiatek extended Zheng’s winning streak at the 2026 US Open to seven matches.
Because her ranking had fallen during an injury-interrupted period, Zheng had to enter the tournament through qualifying. She won three qualifying matches before adding four victories in the main draw.
That makes her run particularly notable.
Zheng entered the tournament ranked No. 121 and was the lowest-ranked singles player to reach the round of 16. She had undergone surgery on her right elbow and was still working her way back toward the level that previously took her as high as world No. 4.
The 2024 Olympic singles gold medalist has now reached the US Open quarterfinals for the third time in her career, having also made the last eight in 2023 and 2024.
Her progress this year carries a different feel, however, because she arrived in New York as a qualifier rather than one of the tournament’s highest-ranked contenders.
Beating Keys and Swiatek in consecutive main-draw matches has further strengthened what has already become one of the more unexpected runs of the tournament.
The mechanics behind the comebacks
Both 0-5 recoveries followed a similar pattern.
Zheng fell behind after difficult starts but became significantly more consistent once facing a large deficit. Against Keys, she had to save match point before the momentum shifted completely. Against Swiatek, the turnaround came earlier in the match, but the seven-game winning streak produced the same 7-5 set score.
Against Keys, tournament officials confirmed that Zheng won the final seven games of the deciding set after trailing 5-0.
The back-to-back nature of the comebacks makes the run especially unusual, although there has been no official confirmation from the WTA or US Open that two recoveries from 0-5 deficits in the same tournament represent a historical record.
That distinction matters. The achievement is remarkable on its own without describing it as a record unless tournament statisticians formally confirm one.
For now, the confirmed story is striking enough: Zheng has twice recovered from 0-5 deficits during her 2026 US Open run, including one comeback from match point down against Keys and another against Swiatek on her way to the quarterfinals.
The SBCC Editorial Team researches, writes, and reviews news and explainers using credible sources and official information.
