Zheng Jie 鄭潔, together with Li Na 李娜, are the pioneers of women's professional tennis in China. Zheng is a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist.
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| Zheng at the 2010 U.S. Open. (Photo from Robbie Mendelson) |
As an unseeded entry in 2008, Zheng made it as far as the last four in Wimbledon, becoming the first wild card to achieve the feat in the Ladies' Competition. En route to her breakout performance, Zheng had beaten 2006 French Open Champion Ana Ivanovic and the talented Nicole Vaidisova. She eventually crashed out of the competition, losing to Serena Williams.
At the 2010 Australian Open, the mouth-watering prospect of an all-Chinese final was in the books, as both Zheng and Li Na made it as far as the semifinals. Zheng and Li, however, lost against Justin Henin and Serena Williams, respectively.
Zheng is currently ranked 27th in the world. Her highest ever placing was 15th back in 2009. To date, the Chinese tennis player has amassed 341 singles victories, 4 WTA titles, and 4 ITF crowns.
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