US Open 2026: Qinwen Zheng makes incredible comeback, upsets Iga Świątek in straight sets

Qinwen Zheng needed to dig deep Monday. After trailing 0-5 in the first set to Iga Świątek, Zheng found the strength — again — to rally all the way back and pick up a massive, upset win over the No. 8-ranked player.

Zheng used that momentum to knock off Świątek in straight sets (7-5, 6-3) to advance to the quarterfinals at the US Open.

Things looked extremely promising from Świątek early. After five games, she led 5-0 and looked poised to make quick work of the much, much lower-ranked Zheng. But being down 5-0 in a set is apparently when Zheng plays her best tennis.

For the second-straight match — and in her second-straight set — Zheng somehow rallied from 5-0 to win the next seven games and actually steal the win from Świątek in the first set.

Zheng pulled off the exact same comeback in her third set vs. Madison Keys on Saturday, rallying from down 0-5 to come back and win that set — and match — 7-5.

Zheng played sloppy tennis early, making a number of unforced errors in the first five games against Świątek. In the fifth game, Zheng lost thanks to a double fault and two unforced errors.

From there, she started rolling. Zheng was credited with just two unforced errors over the next seven games. Instead, it was Świątek who suddenly couldn't land her shots.

That set up a potential match-winning opportunity to Zheng in the second set. Despite having all the momentum on her side, Zheng dropped the first game of the second set to Świątek, a sign the No. 8-ranked player wasn't going down that easily. Zheng, however, quickly evened up the set at 1-1 in the next game.

Świątek appeared to be mounting a comeback, taking the third game. But before the fourth game of the second set began, a trainer came out to take a look at Świątek. It was initially unclear what was ailing her.

Świątek continued with the match, but quickly lost the next game, increasing concern about a possible injury. But Świątek took the next game, again evening the set.

From that point, however, Zheng again found her stride, winning the next four games to win the second set. She nearly kept Świątek off the board entirely in the final game, but Świątek had one more late rally in her before eventually falling 6-3 in the set.

Coming into the match, Świątek held a significant advantage. She held a 7-1 record vs. Zheng in their head-to-head matchups. Zheng's only victory in those eight matches came at the Paris Olympics in 2024, when Zheng toppled Świątek in straight sets. Zheng rode that victory all the way to a gold medal at the event.

Despite that win, Zheng entered Monday's match ranked 121st by the WTA. Świątek came into the contest as the WTA's No. 8.

With the win, Zheng will advance to the quarterfinals at the US Open for the third time in her career. She's never advanced past that stage of the tournament, however.

If Zheng is going to continue her miracle run, she'll need to topple yet another strong opponent in the quarterfinals. Zheng will take on the winner of Naomi Osaka and Elena Rybakina, who are set to square off Monday afternoon.