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Qinwen Zheng Runs Away From Australian Open Fans

Fans chased Qinwen Zheng after her practice session at the Australian Open.

Pat Benson

Qinwen Zheng (CHI) during her first round at the 2025 Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, on January 12, 2025.
Qinwen Zheng (CHI) during her first round at the 2025 Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, on January 12, 2025. / IMAGO / ABACAPRESS

Qinwen Zheng is the biggest Chinese tennis star since Li Na. The 22-year-old still has a long way to go before reaching Na's achievements on the court. Off the court, Zheng might already have eclipsed Na's level of celebrity.

Everyone knows about Zheng's massive sponsorships with Nike, Dior, Audi, and Gatorade. Her commercials and photo shoots always do numbers on social media. However, those massive deals came because the WTA World No. 5 has cultivated a loyal legion of fans.

Zheng has always reciprocated the love she receives from fans. She has been known to stand around signing autographs and posing for selfies. Unfortunately, Zheng's star power brought on more attention than she could handle on Tuesday.

Dozens of little kids waited outside Zheng's practice session at the Australian Open in hopes of meeting their favorite player. It appears that Zheng did spend some time with fans but eventually had to run away with her Wilson racquet bag bouncing around on her back.

While it was a funny moment, fans on the Tennis Subreddit worried about Zheng's security around the event. The most upvoted comment points out that is the Australian Open is the Grand Slam of Asia. Zheng is easily one of the biggest stars in Melbourne this week.

Zheng is currently facing Laura Siegemund in the second round of the Australian Open. She has already won a Gold Medal, but a Grand Slam title would take Zheng's popularity to unprecedented heights for a Chinese tennis player.

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Pat Benson
PAT BENSON

Pat Benson covers the sneaker industry for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Previously, he has reported on the NBA, authored "Kobe Bryant's Sneaker History (1996-2020)," and interviewed some of the biggest names in the sports world. You can email him at 1989patbenson@gmail.com.

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