2-0: US Open Gets First Finalist; Top Seed Secures $18.78 Million, Latest on Zheng Qinwen

Let’s start with a number: 0-5.

In tennis, trailing 0-5 in a set means what? It means the opponent needs only one more game before you can pack your bags and leave. At the 2026 US Open, Zheng Qinwen stood on the edge of defeat at 0-5 against two different opponents in two different matches, then won seven straight games twice to drag herself back into the contest. Even more remarkable, the two comebacks came just 48 hours apart.

On the same court where she completed her incredible battle, top seed Sabalenka defeated American star Pegula 7-5, 6-2 to keep the home favorite out of the final, reaching the US Open women’s singles final for the fourth consecutive year and extending her Flushing Meadows winning streak to 19 matches. The victory guaranteed her $2.8 million in runner-up prize money, about 18.78 million yuan, and another win would raise that figure to $5.5 million.

On one side was the Chinese player who fought through qualifying and escaped elimination twice; on the other was the world No. 1 with massive prize money earnings. Those two images together represented the most authentic story of this year’s Flushing Meadows.

The first seven games of the Sabalenka-Pegula semifinal were much tighter than many expected. Pegula is known for her grinding style, with machine-like precision in placement, and the two players remained locked at 5-5 after the first ten games.

The key points came in the 11th and 12th games. Sabalenka held her serve calmly, then took advantage of Pegula’s softer second serve, attacking the backhand side with powerful returns to earn a decisive break and take the first set 7-5.

Expand full article

The statistics from the set told the story: Sabalenka hit 17 winners and won 64% of her second-serve points, while Pegula won only 38% of her second-serve points. In the second set, Sabalenka broke through her opponent’s defense twice in the fourth and eighth games, closing it out 6-2.

Sabalenka was not always this composed. In earlier years, double faults in the double digits were common, she could become impatient when leading and smash her racket when behind. Fans privately called her a “wild beast.” Her biggest change in recent years has not been greater power, but learning to control risk while maintaining shot quality and becoming mentally steadier on serve.

After winning the match, the prize money discussion was unavoidable. The 2026 US Open total prize pool is $108 million, becoming the first Grand Slam event in history to surpass $100 million, 20% higher than the $90 million in 2025.

For singles, the champion receives $5.5 million, the runner-up $2.8 million, semifinalists $1.45 million, quarterfinalists $780,000, fourth-round players $480,000, third-round players $290,000, second-round players $190,000, and first-round losers $140,000. The champion’s prize is 10% higher than the $5 million in 2025 and ranks first among the four Grand Slam tournaments.

The numbers look impressive, but the picture below that is different. Lower-ranked players outside the top 100 who regularly compete on ITF events and challenger tournaments must pay for coaches, flights, accommodation and fitness recovery teams themselves. The 2026 US Open qualifying first-round losers receive a $32,000 allowance, but after international flights, visas and team costs, many still end the year losing money.

Now back to Zheng Qinwen.

Her identity when she arrived in New York was a qualifier. She underwent right elbow surgery in July 2025 and rested for ten months, but her form had not returned after her comeback at the 2026 Australian Open. At the French Open, she lost 4-6, 0-6 in the first round to Polish qualifier Hvalinska, marking the first first-round exit of her career at Roland Garros. Her ranking fell from No. 53 to No. 117, outside the top 100.

The grass-court season was also difficult. She lost in the first round of the Queen’s Club event to Romanian player Cristian, with her live ranking dropping as low as No. 158. Before the US Open began, her ranking was No. 101, meaning she had to start from qualifying, her first Grand Slam qualifying appearance since the 2022 Australian Open.

In the third round, she faced American star Keys and trailed 0-5 in the deciding set, standing on the brink of elimination, before winning seven straight games for a comeback. In the fourth round against former world No. 1 and five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek, she again fell behind 0-5 in the first set, repeated the miracle by winning seven straight games to take the set 7-5, and eventually swept her opponent 6-3.

Since Wimbledon records began in 1877, a Grand Slam comeback from 0-5 down by winning seven straight games had occurred only 15 times over 149 years. Zheng Qinwen produced it twice within 48 hours.

The quarterfinal began in the early hours of September 10 Beijing time, with her opponent being No. 2 seed and Kazakh star Rybakina. Before the match, official predictions gave Zheng a 13% chance of winning and Rybakina 87%; Zheng had a 1-4 record in their previous five meetings.

Zheng played extremely strongly in the first set. After both players held serve until 4-3, she broke in the eighth game and saved five break points in the ninth-game set-serving game, which alone lasted 14 minutes and 31 seconds. She took the set 6-3, and it was the first set Rybakina had lost at this US Open.

The second set changed dramatically. Rybakina improved her baseline quality, Zheng was broken twice and dropped the set 1-6. In the deciding set, they battled to 4-4. Zheng had a break point but failed to convert, then lost two straight games and fell 4-6, ending her run in the quarterfinals with a 1-2 scoreline.

The match lasted 2 hours and 14 minutes. From qualifying onward, Zheng played eight matches and 21 sets in total, three more qualifying matches than Rybakina, and the physical toll gradually showed in the final two sets.

After the loss, the crowd stood and applauded her. It was her third US Open quarterfinal appearance, matching her personal best results from 2023 and 2024. She was the only unseeded player and the only qualifier among this year’s quarterfinalists. According to the prize structure, she earned $780,000 for reaching the quarterfinals, and her ranking returned from No. 101 to the top 60. The Hubei Provincial Sports Bureau wrote in its congratulatory message: “Starting from qualifying, she fought all the way through, from an epic comeback in adversity to a strong breakthrough against tough opponents.” Zheng said after the match: “Tennis has always taught me that as long as the match is not over, you must keep fighting, because you never know what will happen in the next game.”

After her performances drew attention, overseas media began exploring her background, and the old claim that “her father spent 20 million yuan on training costs” resurfaced.

That figure came from media estimates and has not been confirmed by those involved. When asked about it, Zheng Qinwen smiled and responded: “I don’t know whether it is true or not. If my family really had that much money, I wouldn’t have had so much pressure back then.”

Her father Zheng Jianping was previously a track and field athlete, and her mother Deng Fang quit her job to accompany her daughter to competitions. The family sold property and a car to support her tennis career, with fixed annual expenses of about 3 million yuan in those years, most of which went toward coaching teams. She previously trained with the coaching group connected to Li Na.

These family investments were real, but another foundation of support should not be overlooked: the Hubei Provincial Sports Bureau, local tennis associations and the national reserve sports system provided support in facilities, competition pathways, injury protection and financial subsidies, allowing her to continue accessing world-class coaching and medical resources.