On January 13 – five days before the start of the Australian Open – Zheng and Elena Rybakina will meet in an exhibition match at the Rod Laver Arena.
For Zheng, it will be her first competition since retiring from Linda Noskova in Beijing at the end of September. Over the summer, the 2024 Paris Olympics gold medalist surgically repaired her right elbow. When the former world number 4 returned to action in Beijing, she won her first match back, but was forced to retire in the next round. She then decided to close out her 2025 season and further address the elbow problem.
A week ago it was revealed that Zheng was the only top 30 player not to have registered for pre-Australian Open tournaments. However, the 23-year-old will get some action before she launches her campaign at Melbourne Park.
What Zheng recently said about her recovery?
The Chinese tennis star opting not to play WTA tournaments in the first two weeks of 2026 should come as no surprise as she hinted she would give herself more time to recover.
“I need to extend my recovery period… and only resume extensive playing training when I have fully recovered,” the Paris 2024 Olympic Games gold medalist told Vogue China last month.
When Zheng meets Rybakina, it will be their fourth meeting. The Kazakhs won their matches at Wimbledon in 2022 and Beijing in 2023, but the Chinese were victorious in their WTA Finals match in 2024.
“Opening Week in 2026 will likely be our most ambitious yet. Fans will be able to see the world’s best players in must-see clashes alongside the intensity of the 1 Point Slam, delivering world-class tennis at a remarkable value,” said Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley.
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