Zheng will play Wednesday against No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina, who will move to No. 1 in the WTA rankings with a victory. Zheng was once ranked as high as No. 4. She reached the Australian Open final in 2024, made a second straight trip to the U.S. Open quarterfinals later that year, and in between won the first gold medal for China in tennis since the sport returned to the Olympics in 1988.

Qinwen Zheng made a stunning comeback from a 5-0 deficit to defeat Madison Keys at the US Open, marking her return after injury struggles.

Zheng Qinwen and Naomi Osaka advance to the U.S. Open fourth round with thrilling comeback victories.

Comeback queen Zheng strikes again for US Open quarter-final berth

Rybakina can claim the world No 1 ranking by beating Zheng.