Zheng Qinwen shares her recovery photo for the first time, revealing more details about her rehabilitation, while the duo of Radu/Kaka may miss out on the US Open mixed doubles.

Today, China's top female player Zheng Qinwen posted an update on her personal social media, reassuring all her fans. One netizen humorously remarked, "Taking off the bandage and smiling in the sea breeze, the break season for China's top player has begun."

Zheng Qinwen shared a photo of herself standing on the rocky shore, dressed in a blue and white sports outfit, sitting quietly on the beach. Notably, this is her first public appearance since announcing her minimally invasive surgery on her right elbow on July 19. In the photo, she is smiling, with crashing waves in the background—this leading figure in Chinese tennis, who withdrew from the entire North American hard court season due to injury, has officially embarked on her recovery journey.

Following the release of Zheng Qinwen's seaside photo, her first appearance after surgery quickly trended on social media. Netizens left warm messages: "Take care of your injury, we can wait!" Another netizen expressed, "Seeing you smile puts us at ease."

In fact, Zheng Qinwen's decision to undergo surgery came after six months of battling with an injury. Reports indicate that she has been experiencing pain in her right elbow since last summer, which severely affected her training intensity and competition performance. After the winter training began, the lack of rest led to a complete outbreak of her injury. After missing the quarterfinals at this year's French Open, China's top player underwent comprehensive medical examinations and finally identified the issue—two free-floating bone fragments in her elbow joint causing persistent damage.

Under pressure from the approaching Wimbledon, Zheng Qinwen's team initially opted for conservative treatment. However, during her first-round exit at Wimbledon, her serve speed had dropped from an average of 177 km/h to 168 km/h, and her first serve percentage fell to a season-low of 52%. Therefore, after returning home from Wimbledon, Zheng Qinwen engaged in in-depth discussions with her medical team and ultimately decided on a surgical plan.

According to reports from relevant media, initially after the surgery, China's top player wore a professional brace on her right hand, which is standard after elbow arthroscopy. Although this minimally invasive surgery involves a small incision, the recovery period usually takes 6-8 weeks. From the images released by Zheng Qinwen, it appears that the brace has been removed, giving many fans hope for her return.

"Every day I do therapy and strength training; although I can't play on the court, I'm not idle," said a fan who visited the rehabilitation center. Zheng Qinwen maintains a rigorous athlete's schedule and even joked with her therapist, "Once I'm better, the first person I'm going to beat is that someone."

A special report by the People's Daily revealed the hardships she faced while playing through injury: during last year's WTA Finals, her right elbow would swell "like a steamed bun" after every training session, yet she still managed to drag her injured arm to win the singles runner-up. This also highlights the cruelty and challenges of professional tennis.

Now let's turn our attention to another piece of news from the tennis world: the mixed doubles event at the US Open is facing a lineup crisis. Despite a total prize pool of $1 million, the lineup for the mixed doubles exhibition remains uncertain.

This year, the US Open mixed doubles has undergone unprecedented reforms, with a prize pool reaching an all-time high of $1 million, attracting all the top ten male singles players to sign up. However, only Coco Gauff among the female singles players did not register, with the rest participating. According to the event rules, out of the 16 pre-registered teams, only 8 pairs can qualify directly based on the total singles rankings, while the other 8 must participate with wild cards issued by the event organizers.

Notably, the confirmed withdrawals include the Zheng Qinwen/Draper duo (due to Zheng's elbow injury) and the Tsitsipas/Barbora duo (rumored breakup and back injury).

However, many fans are disappointed as the highly anticipated duo of Raducanu/Alcaraz is still uncertain to compete. The reason is that seven pairs have already qualified for the US Open mixed doubles, including: Navarro/Sinner, Anisimova/Rune, Swiatek/Ruud, Rybakina/Fritz, Paulini/Musetti, Pegula/Paul, and Andreyeva/Medvedev.

Currently, based on the combined rankings of men and women, Tiafoe/Keys and Sabalenka/Dimitrov are tied for the eighth spot on the US Open entry line. Therefore, unless the already confirmed participants withdraw, the Alcaraz and Raducanu duo can only rely on wild cards issued by the organizing committee to participate. The competition for wild cards in the US Open mixed doubles is extremely fierce, including many doubles specialists. Additionally, Raducanu's injury-prone physique is also a concern, making their participation uncertain.

"If they make it to the mixed doubles final, they will only have a few days of rest before facing the singles at the US Open," noted a tennis commentator. "For top players, such a schedule is undoubtedly a huge risk."

The final confirmation deadline for the US Open mixed doubles lineup is July 28, leaving less than 48 hours for the "Alcaraz/Raducanu" duo. The tournament director has prepared a wild card plan, with new entries including Venus Williams/Opelka and others. Will they be able to compete smoothly? Let's wait and see!(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Lu Xiaotian)