Wimbledon: Olympic champion Zheng ousted, Wang reaches second round

Zheng Qinwen admitted she was not focused enough, after China's reigning Olympic gold medalist slumped to a shock first-round defeat against the Czech Republic's World No. 81 Katerina Siniakova at Wimbledon on Tuesday.

The World No. 6 exited in the opening round for a third straight year, losing 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 to the unheralded European after playing two hours and 25 minutes in searing heat on Court Three.

The loss marks the fourth time in her past six Grand Slam appearances that Zheng has failed to at least reach the round of 16, a barren slide interrupted by quarterfinal runs at last year's US Open and this season's French Open.

"I should do better in my service games. I was leading 5-3 in the first set and my concentration was not there. I gave her the game so easily. It's a pity," Zheng said. "On grass, you don't get too many chances to come back. I should have taken my chances better, but I'm not going to let this enter my mind. It's just one match I lost at Wimbledon."

Zheng's compatriot Zhu Lin also bowed out early in the third Grand Slam of the year, as the 31-year-old fell to Veronika Kudermetova of Russia 6-3, 6-2. The defeat marks Zhu's third first-round exit at Wimbledon in the past four years, and among her seven appearances in the women's singles main draw at the tournament, she has been eliminated in her opening match five times.

In sharp contrast, China's Wang Xinyu cruised past the Czech Republic's Karolina Muchova in straight sets 7-5, 6-2 to reach the second round.

The 23-year-old maintained her strong form from the Berlin Open, where she fell just short of a historic title at the WTA 500 event, losing to 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in three sets in the final.

Wang's breakthrough performance in Germany's capital has been one of the standout stories of the grass-court season. After navigating two rounds of qualifying, she ousted World No. 16 Daria Kasatkina of Australia in the first round, before stunning the USA's newly-crowned French Open champion and World No. 2 Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-3 for her first career victory against a top-two player.

In the quarterfinals, Wang took the first set 6-1 before Spain's Paula Badosa was forced to retire due to an injury. Her win over Russia's Liudmila Samsonova in the semifinals marked her fourth consecutive victory over a top-20 opponent, underscoring her rise on the WTA Tour and establishing a new personal best on grass.

Next up for World No. 32 Wang at the All England Club is Türkiye's Zeynep Sonmez.