The Paris Olympics Women’s Tennis continues to deliver surprise after surprise. Thursday’s semi final in Roland Garros saw top favorite Iga Swiatek getting sent home by Zheng Qinwen, 6-2, 7-5. With the straight set victory, No. 6 Zheng makes history as the first ever Chinese player, man or woman, to reach the Olympics tennis final. She surpasses the previous record held by two-time Grand Slam winner Li Na, who reached the semifinals at Beijing 2008.
“I’m so happy that I could make history for Chinese tennis because I have always wanted to be one of the athletes who can win a medal for our country,” said Zheng. “And right now, I am one of them. But I know the fight is not over. It’s not the end of tennis. The tournament is very long. So I’m really happy, but at the same time, I want to say I’m aiming for more. I have made history already, but I don’t want to stop here.”
That’s not the only record broken by the 21-year-old Zheng. She also ended the four-time French Open winner Swiatek’s 25-match win streak at Roland Garros. The Polish player will now contend for the bronze medal against Slovakian Anna Karolina Schmiedlova. The latter was defeated by Austrian player Donna Vekić 6-4, 6-0 on the same day.
No. 13 Vekić previously defeated No. 2 favorite Coco Gauff. The dramatic third-round match left the US player in tears following a heated exchange with the umpire.
Now, the two champ-defeaters will battle for gold in the final, set to be held at Roland Garros on Saturday.
Watch the highlights from the match below.