‘Queen Wen’ dreams of Slam crown

Wen-der woman: China’s Zheng Qinwen reacts after beating Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur in the fourth round of the US Open on Sept 4. -AFP

NEW YORK: Zheng Qinwen, the brightest of China’s growing cohort of bright tennis lights, was seven years old when she first picked up a racquet.

Almost instantly, she was among the best children her age in her hometown, Shiyan, by Chinese standards a smaller city with 1.1 million people. She loved the sport, and after two months she and her father travelled to Wuhan, a few hours’ drive away and with a population of more than 11 million people, to show off her game to a more advanced coach. The opportunity thrilled her, and she soaked up compliments.