Qinwen Zheng Wins Olympic Gold in Women’s Singles

August 03, 2024

In her first Olympics, Nike athlete Qinwen Zheng played a commanding match to take home gold in the women’s singles final.

“My teammates often describe me as having a fire inside,” says the 21-year-old. “That requires knowing how to use it against your opponent instead of yourself. I channel my competitive spirit in a very positive way. Only by doing this can I challenge higher-ranked players.”

She reached her first Grand Slam final earlier this year at the 2024 Australian Open, becoming the first Chinese finalist since Li Na in 2014. This showing was a career high and gave her a single’s ranking of world No. 7 by the Women’s Tennis Association; just three years previous she was ranked 630. “We have to go out and fight for our dreams. Inside I always believed I could be better, I just had to do it,” Qinwen says.

Qinwen is a supporter of the “Boundless Girls” program, a collaboration between Nike and the China Foundation for Rural Development focusing on accelerating girls’ potential through the power of sport in China. The program has reached more than 160,000 girls across 700 schools. Qinwen hopes to be an inspiration for the next generation of athletes — and pay tribute to the ones that came before her.

She recently participated in the Athlete Imagined Revolution incubator — a co-creation process between elite athletes and Nike designers and innovators to create the future of Nike Air using the most cutting-edge technologies. Her futuristic prototype featured a serpentine construction inspired by the Chinese lunar calendar’s Year of the Dragon.

Nike Athlete: Qinwen Zheng

Assets

Black and white close up photo of Qinwen Zheng holding a tennis racquet over her shoulder with both hands. She wears a black NikeCourt Victory tank with a white Swoosh.

Black and white close up photo of Qinwen Zheng, wearing the NikeCourt Victory Tennis Tank in black. She looks across the tennis court and holds her hand in a fist.

Black and white close up of Qinwen Zheng holding her tennis racquet near her face. Her hair is pulled up into a high ponytail and she looks to the left.

Black and white close up of Qinwen Zheng holding her tennis racquet close to her face as she looks left. The photo is matched with a headline reading, "There's only one souvenir I want from Paris.", alongside a large black Swoosh.

Video loop of Qinwen Zheng raising her eyes, potentially before a serve. Her face is framed on a blue background.

Full body view of Qinwen Zheng as she swings her tennis racquet, hovering in the air above a blue court. Qinwen wears the NikeCourt Victory tank in white, a white tennis skirt, and white court shoes with a black outlined Swoosh. There is a blur effect on the photo indicating the speed of her movement.

Close up of Qinwen Zheng as she holds her racquet in front of her, prepared to receive a serve. She wears a white NikeCourt Victory white tanks and her hair is pulled up in a ponytail.

Front view of Qinwen Zheng directly facing the camera, while she holds her tennis racquet in front of her, prepared to receive a serve. She wears a white NikeCourt Victory tank with a black Swoosh, white tennis skirt, and white wristbands. She stands against a black background.