FILE IMAGE: Qinwen Zheng has dropped to World No. 56 from World No. 4 in just one year. | Photo Credit: Reuters

Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen’s return to the venue of her most famous ​triumph ended with a 6-4, 6-0 humbling by Polish qualifier ‌Maja Chwalinska in the French Open first round on ​Monday.

China’s Zheng has largely struggled to replicate ⁠the form that carried her to the gold medal at the Paris Games two years ago with a chronic right elbow ‌injury stalling her progress and forcing her to undergo surgery last summer.

The 23-year-old, who made the ‌Roland Garros quarterfinals last year, took treatment for foot ‌blisters ⁠midway through the second set before her ⁠first defeat in the opening round of the French Open.

Chwalinska was delighted with her win over the World No. 56, who was ranked as ​high as four a ‌year ago.

“I didn’t know what to expect, because I don’t have much experience playing against high-ranked players,” Chwalinska told Eurosport.

“I felt much more comfortable today than in ‌the last qualifying match ... I wanted to focus ​on myself and play my tennis to the best of my ability.”

Zheng told reporters later that ⁠she struggled in the heat and her mindset was affected by the loopy shots that Chwalinska used to disrupt ‌her rhythm on court seven - with a smaller perimeter area than a show court.

“She had a good game on clay and the court was really small when she played high balls to me,” added Zheng, who is now set to drop outside the top 100.

“I couldn’t go ‌more back like in the big court. That also makes the ​difference ... and honestly, the conditions were tough for me. The weather has been really hot. I think ⁠the nervousness and the pressure today (also) didn’t allow me to ⁠play.”

World No. 114 Chwalinska, who came through three rounds of qualifying and dished out two bagels along ‌the way, showed no mercy and wrapped up the win to book a clash with 23rd seed ​Elise Mertens in the second round.

Published on May 25, 2026