All Did a Great Job! Zheng Qinwen: Sorry to Zhang Zhen for Not Playing Mixed Doubles, Plot Twist After Replacement

On August 4th, in the women’s singles tennis competition at the Paris Olympic Games, Chinese player Zheng Qinwen defeated Viktorija Cvikic 2-0, becoming China’s first-ever Olympic singles tennis champion. In her post-match interview, Zheng Qinwen also apologized for previously withdrawing from the mixed doubles event, which affected Zhang Zhen.

Zheng Qinwen said, “When I initially decided to withdraw from the mixed doubles, because I didn’t know that we could replace players, I felt really sorry towards Zhang Zhen. At the time, I even cried, saying that I truly felt very sorry for you. However, if I had played the mixed doubles today, I wouldn’t have had the energy to compete against Kerber tomorrow. In the end, unexpectedly, there was a plot twist, and it turned out we could replace players, so I immediately decided to let Wang Xinyu take my place.

“I’m genuinely happy for both Zhang Zhen and Wang Xinyu. But this also highlights the importance of good fortune; I feel like all the good fortune has gathered around China this time. I’m so thrilled for them; this is also a success for Chinese tennis. Because historically, no male athlete has achieved success in the Olympic doubles events, he’s the first one, and they’ve made history together.”

Zhang Zhen, partnering with another prominent Chinese player Wang Xinyu, lost 1-2 in a thrilling tiebreak during the final, taking home the silver medal after losing to the Czech pair of Siniaková and Macháč. Despite the loss, they still made history by achieving China’s best performance in Olympic mixed doubles tennis.