China fans ask if it’s time for Zheng Qinwen to retire after first-round defeat at Queen’s

Chinese tennis fans have wondered whether it was time for Zheng Qinwen to retire and called on the Olympic champion to seek psychological help after she lost in the opening round of a tournament again on Monday.

Two weeks after crashing out of the first round of the French Open on the clay of Roland Garros, Zheng was bounced out on the grass of Andy Murray Arena at The Queen’s Club in London.

A semi-finalist at the same HSBC Championships a year ago, the former Chinese No 1 lost 6-4, 7-6 to world No 38 Jaqueline Cristian of Romania.

It was the third time in seven tournaments this year that Zheng has not made it past her opening match.

The loss also saw Zheng’s live rankings on the WTA tour plunge to No 159, after being ranked as high as No 4 in the world just a year ago.

Starting her season at No 24, Zheng saw her ranking drop just outside the top 50 after a round-of-32 exit in Rome in May. A damaging blow followed when Zheng lost to qualifier Maja Chwalinska, who went on to reach the final, in the first round of the French Open, sending the Hubei native outside the top 100.

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