Zheng Jie is a retired Chinese tennis player who trained under her husband, Zhang Yu. Zheng is one of the most accomplished Chinese tennis players. She was famous for quick reflexes, wide court coverage, and her trademark backhand shot.
Zheng Jie Career Stats
Zheng has found immense success in her career, having won four WTA singles titles and fifteen doubles titles. She has a winning record of 59.1% in singles, having won 384 games and lost in 266 matches. Additionally, her win record of 67.2% in doubles is better, winning in 437 games and losing in 213 games.
In May 2002, she played in two ITF tournaments staged in Shanghai and Tianjin. Fortunately, she brushed away her quarterfinal loss at Fukuoka by emerging victorious in both competitions, winning $25,000. In September 2002, she automatically qualified for a WTA tournament where Anna Kournikova eliminated her in the second round. As a result of her success, she finished the year as 183 seed.
In 2003, she qualified for Doha, but she was unfortunate not to win the tournament. However, she won a $50,000 tournament in August, overcoming major competition on her route to the final. She also had a successful WTA tournament before bowing out of the competition in the semi-finals. She rose from position 122 to 98 and made her debut as a top 100 player on October 6.
In 2004, she ranked in the top 100 and reached the quarterfinal in Hyderabad and Doha. In addition, she made history as the first female Chinese to play in the Grand Slam 4 round. Later on, she played in the Olympics in Athens but unfortunately lost to Ai Sugiyama in the first round. However, she would triumph Li Na to win a $25K tournament in Beijing.
Fast forward to 2005, she broke into the top 50 and defeated Dulko in the WTA final to win the tournament. After Li, she went down in history as the second female Chinese player to win the WTA tournament. She would then play at Rabat, where she finished as a runner-up, losing to Llagostera in the finals. She would reach the quarterfinal at Oeiras and New Haven, the third round once and the second round seven times.
2006 got off to a slow start for Zheng Jie after six consecutive eliminations in the first round. However, her success at the singles tournament was the onset of her newfound confidence, and she defeated first ranked Flavia Pennetta. She emerged victorious over her countrymate Li Na who pulled out of the WTA final. Zheng and Yan won six WTA doubles titles. She debuted as a top 10 ranked player on May 15 and the top 5 ranked player on July 10. Zheng continued making history as she became the first Chinese to win more than $1 million in prize money.
In 2007 she got a lot of injuries that led to her finishing as 163 seed. However, she still managed to win two WTA doubles titles alongside Yan. Zheng Jie saw her rankings improve the following year and won a WTA doubles title and finished third at the Olympics alongside Yan.
In 2009, her rankings improved from no 24 to no 20. She bagged two WTA doubles titles and unfortunately retired from all tournaments before the US Open, citing a left wrist injury in 2010. She triumphed on one WTA doubles tournament and one ITF Circuit in 2011. She won the WTA title at Auckland in 2012 when Penettta called off the final due to low back pains. Zheng also emerged triumphant in a doubles tournament in 2013. In 2014, she lost to Vandeweghe in the finals at Hertogensbosch before retiring from professional tennis in 2015 after the Wimbledon Championships.
Zheng Jie’s Personal Life
Zheng Jie is a daughter to Shu Kai Zheng and Zhi Bin Lei. After watching her elder sister play, she fell in love with tennis at the age of ten. As a child, people would overlook her due to her short stature. Even her parents advised her to concentrate more on her studies to guarantee herself job opportunities. However, her foreign coach noticed unique traits in her and convinced her parents she would succeed in tennis.
Zheng Jie was a product of the Sichuan Sports Academy, where she completed her training in June 2000. She became famous when she made history as the first Chinese to play in the semi-finals of a grand slam. She offered her earnings to help the victims of the 2008 earthquake in her home region of Sichuan. However, her support would not end there as she returned home to give children tennis balls and rackets.
Initially, Zheng trained under Jiang Hong Wei but later trained under Zhang Yu, her husband. Her friendship with Yu grew bigger after her serious ankle injury. She parted ways with the Chinese Tennis Association in 2009 and now is responsible for her finances.
Zheng Jie enjoyed phenomenal success in tennis, winning several trophies in her career. Her determination and serve placement outweighed her short stature, so she succeeded.
Is Zheng Jie on Social Media?
A few months after her retirement, she took to social media to announce that she had become a mother.
Who was Zheng Jie Sponsored by?
She has been a brand ambassador for reputed brands such as Rolex, Anta, and Yonex. She parted ways with the Chinese Tennis Association in 2009 and now is responsible for her finances.
