Zheng Qinwen holds off Barbora Krejcikova to reach WTA Finals final

Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen advanced to the WTA Finals final in Riyadh with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova on Friday, keeping alive her hopes of becoming the second woman to win the gold medal and the year-end crown in the same year.

After nearly seeing a set and a double break lead evaporate, Zheng held her nerve to reel off the last three games of the first semifinal in Riyadh, making her the youngest woman to advance to the season-ending final in her first appearance at the tournament since Krejcikova's countrywoman Petra Kvitova in 2011.

"It feels so special," a beaming Zheng said on-court post-match, "because it's my first WTA Finals, and I'm in a final that's really unvelievable."

Krejcikova and Zheng had played just once previously, a 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 win for Zheng in the 500-level final in Zhengzhou last year. But there was no such lead lost by Krejcikova this time around. Instead, the Czech engineered her best efforts to give Zheng a taste of what she herself experienced in her first round-robin match of the event, where she lost a 6-4, 3-0 lead against Iga Swiatek in defeat.

Zheng was in control of the match from first ball, starting with a love hold, a break to 30, and an escape from 0-30 to lead 3-0. In about an hour, the 22-year-old was three games away from a dominant victory. But Krejcikova, the first player ranked outside the WTA Top 10 to win two matches at the WTA Finals since Elena Dementieva in 2000, wasn't about to go quietly, and reeled off four straight games to take her first lead of the match.

From there, though, Zheng eventually found a way over the line. Two points away from being forced to a third set, Zheng steadied for a deuce hold, broke Krejcikova from 30-0 behind, and converted on her second match point after denying the Czech a tiebreak.

"It was tricky because at 3-0 I think I dropped my focus ... and she played more free," Zheng said. "In that moment, I'm not panicked, I just saidto bring back my focus and start at 0-0 like nothing happened."

"It was really a hard match for me, but it showed that I was mentally strong in that moment," she added.

Zheng is the 15th first-time WTA Finals competitor in history to reach the final, and the first since Anett Kontaveit in 2021. Seven of those players have won the trophy, and Zheng will need to overcome a winless record against either Aryna Sabalenka (0-5) or Coco Gauff (0-1) to become the first woman since Serena Williams in 2012 to win the Olympic gold medal and WTA Finals in the same year.