Surprise! Ribba Returns to Zheng Qinwen's Team

Following the Indian Wells tournament, the main attraction on the tour this week is the Miami Open, which is of equal prestige. The tournament has now started the first round of qualifying matches for men's and women's singles, and a number of Chinese players will be participating.

In the first round of qualifying, Yuan Yue faced Brantmeier. Although she narrowly lost the first set in a tiebreak, she reversed the outcome in the next two sets with scores of 6-4 and 6-2, securing a hard-fought advancement to the final qualifying round. Next, she will compete against the qualifying top seed, Birrell, for a spot in the main draw.

After earning 20 valuable points and $14,130 in prize money, Yuan Yue's live ranking has climbed to No. 120. Another Chinese player who won in the first round of qualifying is Bu Yunchaokete. He defeated the 20th seed, Skurkait, with scores of 7-5 and 6-4, and his current live ranking temporarily stands at No. 156.

It is worth noting that Bu Yunchaokete has only played three matches this season and lost all of them—in the first round of qualifying at the ATP250 Hong Kong event, the first round of the Australian Open, and the Davis Cup. Returning to the Miami Masters after nearly a month and a half, he successfully announced his comeback with a victory.

Of course, our focus today remains on Chinese star Zheng Qinwen. With her world ranking, she has directly entered the Miami Open main draw and enjoys a first-round bye. After an unexpected early exit in her first match at Indian Wells, she took a brief rest and arrived early in Miami to prepare.

Previously, because she unfollowed Ribba on her personal social media platform, rumors about their separation were widely reported. At the same time, a new figure appeared in her coaching team—Bagdatis, who joined this year to guide Zheng Qinwen's training.

However, Zheng Qinwen clarified that she has not parted with Ribba; the latter was merely taking a short break. Today, Ribba reappeared at Zheng Qinwen's training session, dispelling the rumors of their split. It is reported that Ribba indeed missed Zheng Qinwen's Indian Wells tournament due to a temporary break.

After returning in Miami, Ribba will focus on helping Zheng Qinwen refine her serving technique and tactical details. In specific training sessions, the new coach Bagdatis will primarily provide specialized guidance on the serve. Zheng Qinwen will now adopt a dual-coach collaboration model to steadily regain her form and level.

According to the latest Miami Open draw, Zheng Qinwen, as the women's singles No. 23 seed, has a first-round bye. Her second-round opponent will be determined between two wildcard players, Brady and Stephens. If she advances, she is likely to face Ruzici in the third round, whom she recently lost to at Indian Wells.

Of course, for Zheng Qinwen at this stage, she needs to approach each match one at a time, using more actual competition to regain her touch!Source: Tennis Home, Author: Barbie