Qinwen Zheng vs. Elise Mertens — China Open 2026 Semifinal Match Report
Chinese women had gone deep in Beijing before. None had reached the final.
Qinwen Zheng has changed that.
The home favorite powered past Elise Mertens 7-5, 6-2 to become the first Chinese woman to reach the China Open final, producing 38 winners and gradually overwhelming a Belgian who had already eliminated three Grand Slam champions during her remarkable run.
For most of the evening, the outcome felt increasingly inevitable.
There was one wobble from Zheng in the opening set. Mertens briefly dragged herself back into contention. But once Zheng’s forehand returns were joined by equally destructive backhands, the difference in firepower became impossible to disguise.
Zheng Races Ahead Before Mertens Finds a Way Back
Zheng immediately gave the home crowd something to celebrate.
She held the opening game, broke Mertens for 2-0 and consolidated for 3-0.
Mertens finally settled with a hold for 3-1, but Zheng continued to dictate and moved through 4-1 with the early break firmly intact.
Then came the wobble.
Mertens held for 4-2 and finally found an opening on Zheng’s serve, breaking back for 4-3. A hold followed, and suddenly a set Zheng had controlled from the opening ball was level at 4-4.
It was the one stretch in which the Chinese star looked vulnerable.
She steadied herself with a hold for 5-4. Mertens answered for 5-5, and Zheng moved ahead once more at 6-5.
Then came the decisive game.
Mertens did not play it well, but Zheng did considerably more than wait for errors. Her forehand return repeatedly arrived with depth and violence, pushing the Belgian immediately onto the defensive.
Zheng broke to take the set 7-5.
The wobble had lasted for more than a few games, but disappeared in that final game when she broke Mertens’ serve again.
Set 1 at a Glance
- Zheng hit through Mertens. She struck 23 winners to Mertens’ 6. Her 11 unforced errors were more than Mertens’ 7, but the aggression clearly paid off: she won 39 of the set’s 71 points.
- Zheng won despite a poor first-serve percentage. She landed only 12 of 33 first serves (36%) but won 10 of those 12 points. She also took 13 of 21 points on her second serve, so her low first-serve rate cost her little.
- The one-break difference came on return. Mertens won the bigger moments, taking 5 of the 8 pressure points. Still, Zheng broke twice from four chances and lost her own serve only once, which gave her the set.
Full Set 1 Stats
| Zheng | Statistic | Mertens |
|---|---|---|
| Set 1 Duration: 0h55m | ||
| 1.39 | Dominance Ratio | 0.72 |
| 23 | Winners | 6 |
| 11 | Unforced Errors | 7 |
| 265 | Serve Rating | 247 |
| 3 | Aces | 0 |
| 2 | Double Faults | 2 |
| 36% (12/33) | 1st Serve % | 76% (29/38) |
| 83% (10/12) | 1st Serve Points Won | 62% (18/29) |
| 62% (13/21) | 2nd Serve Points Won | 44% (4/9) |
| 0% (0/1) | Break Points Saved | 50% (2/4) |
| 177 | Return Rating | 172 |
| 38% (11/29) | 1st Return Points Won | 17% (2/12) |
| 56% (5/9) | 2nd Return Points Won | 38% (8/21) |
| 2/4 | Break Points Won | 1/1 |
| 39 | Total Points Won | 32 |
Once the Backhand Joins In, Mertens Has Nowhere to Go
The second set removed the uncertainty.
Zheng held for 1-0 and immediately broke for 2-0.
She consolidated for 3-0.
Mertens managed to hold for 3-1, but by then the patterns were becoming uncomfortable for the Belgian.
Her run through Beijing had been built on exceptional serving, early ball striking and an ability to absorb pace without surrendering court position.
Against Zheng, she was receiving a different weight of shot.
Whenever a ball landed in Zheng’s preferred hitting zone, the response came back deep into Mertens’ court with additional pace and kick. The forehand had already been damaging throughout the first set. Now the backhand began doing the same.
Zheng held for 4-1.
Mertens kept herself alive at 4-2, but Zheng moved to 5-2 and then attacked one final service game.
Another break completed the 6-2 set.
No comeback this time.
Set 2 at a Glance
- Zheng’s first serve was nearly unreturnable. She won 13 of 14 first-serve points and hit five aces, more than a fifth of her service points. Mertens won just one of 14 points returning Zheng’s first serve.
- Mertens’ second serve was the weak spot. She won only 2 of 9 second-serve points, and Zheng converted both break points she earned. Mertens held just twice in four service games.
- Zheng was the more efficient player. Both players made only five unforced errors, but Zheng hit 15 winners to Mertens’ 6. She won 31 of 48 points and also took the pressure points 4-2, after losing that count in the first set.
Full Set 2 Stats
| Zheng | Statistic | Mertens |
|---|---|---|
| Set 2 Duration: 0h38m | ||
| 2.37 | Dominance Ratio | 0.42 |
| 15 | Winners | 6 |
| 5 | Unforced Errors | 5 |
| 312 | Serve Rating | 196 |
| 5 | Aces | 0 |
| 0 | Double Faults | 0 |
| 64% (14/22) | 1st Serve % | 65% (17/26) |
| 93% (13/14) | 1st Serve Points Won | 59% (10/17) |
| 50% (4/8) | 2nd Serve Points Won | 22% (2/9) |
| 100% (1/1) | Break Points Saved | 0% (0/2) |
| 269 | Return Rating | 57 |
| 41% (7/17) | 1st Return Points Won | 7% (1/14) |
| 78% (7/9) | 2nd Return Points Won | 50% (4/8) |
| 2/2 | Break Points Won | 0/1 |
| 31 | Total Points Won | 17 |
Mertens Finally Meets More Power Than She Can Absorb
Mertens had raced through three Grand Slam champions during her Beijing run.
Her tennis had looked better than ever against Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek, particularly behind the serve and when redirecting pace from the baseline.
Zheng gave her an entirely different problem.
The Chinese star struck 38 winners to Mertens’ 12.
That number alone explains much of what happened.
Zheng won 88 percent of her first-serve points, while Mertens, so dominant behind her own first delivery against Swiatek, managed 61 percent.
The second serve was even more punishing. Zheng won 67 percent of Mertens’ second-serve return points, repeatedly attacking before the Belgian could establish herself in the rally.
Zheng broke four times from six opportunities and finished with a 1.72 dominance ratio.
Her 16 unforced errors against 38 winners also show how aggressively she played without losing control.
Mertens had simply ran into considerably more power.
Full Match Stats Zheng vs Mertens
| Zheng | Statistic | Mertens |
|---|---|---|
| Full Match Duration: 1h32m | ||
| 1.72 | Dominance Ratio | 0.58 |
| 38 | Winners | 12 |
| 16 | Unforced Errors | 12 |
| 290 | Serve Rating | 224 |
| 8 | Aces | 0 |
| 2 | Double Faults | 2 |
| 47% (26/55) | 1st Serve % | 72% (46/64) |
| 88% (23/26) | 1st Serve Points Won | 61% (28/46) |
| 59% (17/29) | 2nd Serve Points Won | 33% (6/18) |
| 50% (1/2) | Break Points Saved | 33% (2/6) |
| 213 | Return Rating | 113 |
| 39% (18/46) | 1st Return Points Won | 12% (3/26) |
| 67% (12/18) | 2nd Return Points Won | 41% (12/29) |
| 4/6 | Break Points Won | 1/2 |
| 70 | Total Points Won | 49 |
Beijing Gets the Final It Had Never Seen
Zheng entered this tournament as a wildcard.
Long before the semifinals, the qualifiers had disappeared and the other wildcards had followed them out of the draw.
The last one standing has now gone further than any Chinese woman before her at the China Open.
That makes the achievement exceptional even before the final begins.
Zheng has survived difficult moments, found increasing form since the US Open and now produced perhaps her most authoritative performance of the tournament when history was directly in front of her.
Only Mirra Andreeva remains.
The Russian enters the final having just dismantled Nikola Bartunkova 6-2, 6-2 and moved into the world’s top three.
Zheng has already done something no Chinese woman had managed in Beijing.
Beat Andreeva, and she will add the one piece still missing: the title on her own turf.