Olympic gold medalist Qinwen Zheng will be ruled out for ‘the next few weeks and months’ after announcing that she has undergone surgery on her right elbow.
Zheng is now set to miss the North American hard-court swing, including the final Grand Slam of the year at the US Open in August, where she reached the quarter-final last year before losing to Aryna Sabalenka.
She was also due to play in the revamped US Open mixed doubles tournament alongside Jack Draper.
In a post on social media, she said: “I want to share a quick update with you all. Over the past months, l’ve been dealing with persistent pain in my right elbow during training and matches. Despite trying various treatments to manage it, the discomfort never fully went away.
“After consulting with elbow specialists and discussing thoroughly with my team, we decided that arthroscopic surgery was the best option to fully resolve the issue. Yesterday, I underwent the procedure successfully, and I’m grateful to have it behind me.
“Now begins the recovery journey. Over the next few weeks and months, I’ll be focusing entirely on rehab-doing everything I can to come back stronger and healthier.
“This is just a short break, and I see it as a necessary step toward a better version of myself on court. Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement. I can’t wait to be back—see you soon!”
The Chinese superstar and world number six suffered a first-round defeat at Wimbledon at the start of the month and has been struggling to find the form that saw her clinch gold in Paris and reach the Australian Open final in 2024.